Zarkhator
by WarriorWolverine
Summary: This is about Zarkhator, who is becomes dictator of the Grox. He soon sets out to rule the universe... and defeat his most hated foe.
1. The Beginning

**The Beginning**

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_**Part 1**_

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At the biginning of time, there was nothing but Agriath. He was the embodiment of evil and chaos, and everything dark and evil. The multiverse was thus empty, devoid of life and reality.

_____________________________And then the great Spode was born. He looked upong the darkness of Agriath and decided it was his destiny to defeat the evil._

___________________________________________________________Spode released his powers against the greatness of Agriath, and a battle unlike any other ensued. The two wrestled for control, inflicting wounds that no mortal could sustain. Until finally, the great Spode was triumphant._

_________________________________________________________________________________________Spode used his powers to imprison Agriath in the Dark Hollow, the emtiness between universes, as he made life. He made the entirety of the multiverse and all who lived there, and he was happy._

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Agriath screamed defiance in his prison, and vowed revenge. And in his madness, something was born._

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The above contents are on a scroll that was found only a few days after the creation of the Groxian Library. It is currently under lock and key in one of the Library's most heavily guarded areas, and only Grox Emperors have been permitted to read it. Author is unidentified.


	2. Chapter 1

**One**

Zarkhator trudged along mushroom valley. He hated the valley. He hated the planet. He hated everything on the planet. And he ESPECIALLY hated Tigracc, the one who had made him so weak. He was the one who had cursed him in this cute, feeble form, the one who stopped his plans of ruling the planet, the one that should be dead, at his hands. Zarkhator was thinking of all of this as he slumped forward. He was thinking so hard that he did not notice a red speck in the sky, a speck that was steadily growing.

XXX

The Grox starship was very large, and very red. It's mission was quite standard, and it was simply to make a planet just outside the Grox Empire totally unlivable, which, ironically, is the only environment a Grox can live in. Thank god they can't breathe our air, or they would likely be rulers of the universe thousands of years before. Anyway, after the planet has been "cleansed" it would soon be added to the Grox Empire. It was a really easy mission, since the Grox have a special weapon that can "cleanse" a planet instantly. Luckily, they are extremely expensive, and there are only three in the universe. Moving on, the Grox Commander was just about to fire the "cleanse ray" when a pilot yelled "STOP!"

The Commander looked up. "Yes?" he said, impatiently.

The pilot answered "Sir, there are two strange blips on the radar."

The Commander yawned. "Are you saying another empire is colonizing this planet?"

The pilot shook his head, "No sir, these blips are living organisms."

The Commander froze. "What?"

"We're picking up two living creatures with an extraordinarily high energy level."

"That's impossible. Nothing living has enough energy to be picked up on _radar._"

"Sir, it's right here in front of me."

The Commander had just realized that things had gotten complicated. He suddenly remembered an old Grox Prophecy, more a fable, about an alien creature that would appear and lead the Grox to enforcing a Universal Dictatorship. If his boss found out he had passed up a chance like this, he would certainly be shot into a black hole.

"I want a small ship to land on that planet, no questions asked! I want a squad of men with protective suits to search for those creatures, ON THE DOUBLE!"

XXX

Tigracc ran through the dense jungle. He had found a heap of berries, and he couldn't wait to share it with his tribe. He began to hum a song, oblivious to the danger fast approaching.

XXX

The squads of Grox were wearing huge metal suits, making them appear much larger than they really were. The right arm of the suit was equipped with a powerful laser cannon, so the squad leader was confident of completing his mission. The drop ship slowly touched down onto the beach, and the leader said to the pilot "Wait for us here, and don't think about leaving without us, because it's obvious this planet is uncivilized." The Grox turned to his squad. "We shall split into two groups. I shall go southwest, you northwest. Go!"

XXX

Zarkhator had entered the forest by now, but his pace had not changed. He suddenly heard rustling behind him. He quickly grabbed a sharp rock and scampered up the nearest tree. Five robot men suddenly entered the clearing, and stopped right below him.

The leader said "That's odd; the radar says our target is right below us..."

Zarkhator had heard enough. He leapt onto the cyborg, driving his rock onto the Grox's head, smashing the glass dome. The Grox screamed, and totally dissolved, because air is incredibly poisonous to Grox. Zarkhator slipped into the suit, and suddenly knew how to fire the laser cannon.

The rest of the Grox were totally shocked at the quick turn of events, and hadn't moved. But their composure returned after another Grox exploded in a blast of energy. A Grox leapt on Zarkhator, but was soon thrown headfirst into a rock, and his suit cracked, giving him a similar fate as his comrade. The remaining Grox managed to hold Zarkhator down and pulled the small creature from the suit.

"Let go of me!" yelled Zarkhator.

"You're the chosen one?" a Grox asked.

"Doesn't look like much, does he?" said the other one.

"Let go of me!" screeched Zarkhator. "I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did." repied a Grox. "You just annihilated three of our comrades."

"That's only because you were talking about me!" yelled Zarkhator.

"I tire of this," said a Grox. "Can we head back to the ship now?"

"Yes, let's!" said the other Grox, happily.

And the duo dragged their prisoner to their spacecraft.

XXX

Tigracc had realized he was being tracked far before he was found. He had lain in wait for his prey to appear before striking, and had the element of surprise on his side. He jumped into the center of the squad, and knocked two of the Grox senseless. The remaining Grox tried to fire lazers at Tigracc, but he was much too fast. Tigracc suddenly ripped a small tree out of the ground, and knocked a Grox down with it. He then threw the weapon at a foe with such a force it sent both flying. Tigracc then turned to the last Grox.

The cyborg was on his knees, weeping. "Please, mercy!"

Tigracc growled "Who are you, and how did you get here?"

"I'm a Grox, an advanced alien race, and arrived in our dropship. Spare me please!"

Tigracc lifted the alien with one paw. "And where would that ship be?"

"He went east and a little south. Oh let me live!"

Tigracc turned away from the Grox. "Go, now. It would damage my honor to kill a coward like you." He then leapt into the trees, in search of the alien ship.


	3. Chapter 2

Hello again. If you have any OCs... give them to me now.

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**Two**

Zarkhator had been dragged for a long time before reaching the spacecraft. When they arrived, he was thrust into a cramped cell.

"Where's the boss?" asked the pilot, who had remained in the spaceship.

"He went south. I'll contact him now," replied a Grox. He then hit a button on his wrist and said "Boss, we have the target and have returned to the ship. Where are you?"

A voice replied through the communications device. "I met our target, and he killed all my men. I also managed to escape, but he forced me to reveal your location."

One of the Grox said "Was your target big, orange, and very dangerous looking?"

"Ummm... yes, why?"

"Because I can see him running towards us."

"WHAT!? Take off NOW! Then come around and pick me up."

The Grox shook his head. "Sorry boss. Mission comes first," and he turned of the link.

Meanwhile, Zarkhator was jumping up and down in his cell yelling "It's Tigracc, it's Tigracc! Shoot him, shoot him now!"

The pilot said "We are taking off... now," and the dropship rose off the ground.

Tigracc had just missed the spacecraft, and was furious. "Yarrghhh! I'll get you, you murdering scum!" He was suddenly at a loss for words when and idea presented itself. Perhaps, thought Tigracc, I could take those metal suits, and biuld my own spaceship? It didn't have a chance of working, but it was his only hope, so he entered the forrest.

XXX

The dropship had pulled into the Grox starship, and Zarkhator was pulled by the two Grox, led by the pilot. They soon met the Grox Commander, flanked by four Grox, all out of protective suits.

"Is this him?" asked the Commander, peering at Zarkhator.

Zarkhator wrestled free of his captors. "Look, whoever you are, you have no right to go around capturing creatures for no reason at all! Now I want an explanation, and I want it now!"

The Commander laughed. "Calm down, calm down. If you get lucky, you just might be made an emperor."

Zarkhator blinked. "What?"

"All in good time. Pilot, set a course to Groxia. Small bunny creature, follow me." The Commander then lead Zarkhator into the communications room. When the Commander clicked a button, a hologram of a Grox appeared out of what used to look like a circular table.

The Grox hologram looked like a normal Grox, apart that both of his arms were robotic, and wore a crimson helmet and a blood red cape. The hologram turned to Zarkhator and snorted "My commander postponed his mission to capture YOU?" The Commander said "Xalcath, sir, this is the creature that... diverted my attention."

Xalcath said "Hmmm... very well. Send him to Groxia for his... inauguration." The hologram switched off.

Zarkhator was about o ask about the "inauguration," but the Commander's attention was once again diverted.

"Fire the cleansing ray!" he yelled. There was suddenly a lurch in the ship, and a blast of red was fired at the planet.

XXX

Tigracc had just entered the clearing with the empty robot suits when there was a blast of red, and everything went black.

XXX

Zarkhator stared at the planet through a window. What used to be a lush, green paradise had become a dead, red rock.

He was about to ask what happened when the Commander yelled "Into lightspeed! We can't keep Xalcath waiting, right?" Then the ship suddenly lurched, and there was a blue flash.

XXX

Tigracc woke up in unfamiliar surroundings. The trees were gone. The earth was red. The entire planet had become an endless wasteland. The only thing that hadn't changed was that the robot suits were still where they were.

Tigracc suddenly realized that he was the only living left. He was furious that those aliens had ruined a perfect planet, killing thousands of creatures.

Tigracc turned to the suits. He mindlessly pulled a wire and started to work.

XXX

Groxia was almost certainly the most amazing thing Zarkhator had ever seen. The planet had towering biuldings, and the streets were filled with identical Grox. And they all seemed to be going to the same place.

The starship had been left in space near Groxia and Zarkhator, the Commander, and a few soldiers and landed on the surface with a dropship. Now, the small group was pushing through the crowds to a huge colliseum. All the Grox were going into a big doorway, but he was lead into a sidedoor, and entered a big, dark, damp room.

"All right," asked Zarkhator. "What is going on?"

"You're going to fight a monster," answered the Commander. "If you win, you become Emperor. If you lose... well, I think you know."

Then a big door opened, and the room was bathed in light. The Commander pushed him through, and the door shut behind him.

Zarkhator was in the center of the colliseum, and there were hundreds of Grox in the stands, cheering. They stands started six feet above his head. No escape. He then saw Xalcath in the stands in his own box, in the front row. Also in the box were two other Grox, one blue, another green. A banner with the Grox emblem hung down from the seats, onto the wall.

Then another door opened, right across from Zarkhator. A huge blue turtle staggered out. The creature stood on it's hind legs, making it slightly humanoid. It blinked in the bright sun, and looked around slowly.

Zarkhator picked up a rock, his only weapon. There was absolutely no way he could defeat this monster, he thought. At least, not fairly. He then charged the roaring turtle, throwing the rock straight into his foe's mouth.

The turtle choked on the rock for a minute, but pulled itself together. The crowd cheered as it charged Zarkhator.

Zarkhator fled to a wall, and as the monster approached, he lunged to the left.

The turtle ran straight into the wall, and the entire structure shuddered. He turned to Zarkhator in a confused state, and charged wildly.

Zarkhator had ran below Xalcath's box, and was trying to pull the banner down. It came free on the charging turtle, entagling the monster. Zarkhator then proceeded to jump on his enemy yelling "I'm the victor, I'm the victor!"

The crowds was enthralled. They started to chant "Zarkhator, Zarkhator!"

Xalcath roared "SILENCE!" and everyone hushed. He then said "Zarkhator, it is my duty to bestow you the rank of Emperor of the Grox."

Zarkhator replied "Thank you. Now, as Emperor, I swear to lead the Grox Empire to a universal dictatorship!"

The crowd yelled even louder in agreement.

Zarkhator then exited the colliseum yelling "Take me to my ship! I need to find Tigracc!"

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These chapters do not look short in microsoft word, so don't insult me!


	4. Chapter 3

Hello again. I only think i've had one review... WHICH IS INCREDIBLY MEAN!

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**Three**

Tigracc took a few breaths. He had been working on his masterpiece for almost a day, and he had suddenly decided he was finished. He took a step backwards to examine his work.

He had biult a red starfighter, a ship that only had a cockpit and two wings, but somehow Tigracc had built in two laser guns on the end of each wing. Tigracc slowly climbed into the craft. He decided to hit the big red button in the middle.

After hitting it, a techno voice said "Welcome aboard. Please take the wheel, and we will be lifting off shortly."

Tigracc did as advised. He really had no idea how he biult this. He had no memory of technology in his life, but instincivly knew how to operate the ship. He grinned as he did a loopty-loop.

That was just about the moment when the Grox cruiser had exited lightspeed. Right in front of -trying-out-his-new-toy. He swerved and narrowly missed being smashed to pieces. He then drove the ship past the bridge, but he was too stricken to see who was inside of it.

Unfortunatly, everyone in the bridge saw him.

Zarkhator immedietly yelled "All fighters, shoot that ship down!"

Twenty-five Grox fighters, each piloted by a Grox, zoomed out of the cruiser in pursuit of Tigracc. They were all very surprised when Tiggracc turned around, and blasted two ships into flames. Everything was then filled with laser blasts, and although he was outnumbered, Tigracc hadn't taken a scratch.

One Grox hung back. He was a experienced pilot, and knew you got yourself killed quickly by hurling yourself into a fray. Then the moment he was waiting for arrived. Tigracc flew himself right passed the pilot's vision. The pilot fired. The ship left wing burst into flames, and came to a slow stop.

XXX

Tigracc's ship was dragged inside the cruiser by an extension cable attached to a Grox fighter. It was pulled through an energy barrior, and met by Zarkhator and two dozen armed guards. Tigracc jumped out of his ship, and began knocking the Grox flat.

After a few minutes a Grox managed to knock him out with their stun clubs. Zarkhator kicked the unconscious body contemptiously saying "This is just the beginning, Tigracc. But don't worry, I'm going to keep you alive to see it.

XXX

When Tigracc woke up, he was totally confused. His wrist and ankles were cuffed by a chain that looked as if it were made of pure blue energy. It held him about a foot off the ground, and lots of Grox spectators were looking up at him.

Tigracc looked around the room until he laid his eyes on Zarkhator. He was in the exact same contraption Tigracc was in, only the expression on Zakhator's face was much happier.

"You!" roared Tigracc, scattering the Grox. "Zarkhator! What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Zarkhator laughed. "Ha! I was wondering when you'd wake up. You want answers? Okay. I've been elected Emperor by these cyborgs, and with their help, I'm going to have my revenge against you."

"Oh really? And how will you do that?"

"Well, my Grox friends here did some research and found out that when you cursed me... you took most of my energy and put it inside YOU. So I'm just going to take it back." He nodded to a caped Grox near lots of buttons.

The Grox pulled a lever. Suddenly Tigracc felt a wave of energy course through him, and saw that Zarkhator was under similar stress, and that his foe was also... glowing. Then there was a burst of light, and all the lights went out.

Luckily for Tigracc, the energy chains went off too. He didn't stop to look back as he smashed through cowering Grox and out the door.

Zarkhator didn't even notice that Tigracc had escaped, he was so happy that his experiment had worked. He had changed into his first form, which although small, could definitly scare the wits out of you. He was no longer a cute reddish-orange colour, but both lava-red and coal-black. He had several red bumps on his back, and his bottom jaw was protruding more than his top jaw, making a rounded snout. His eyes glowed with renewed ferocity.

Then he noticed the complete chaos. He could see that the Grox were completely panicking, even though the lights were off. He grabbed the Commander by his cloak and roared "What happened? Where's the prisoner?"

The Commander shook as he stared into his masters eyes. "S-s-s-sire, the lights went out, the prisoner escaped, and-"

"WHAT?! Go, you bumbling fools! Get him NOW!"

The Grox instantly decided not to resist the order. They all tried to get out of the room, trampling one another.

By then, Tigracc had already reached the dock, which holds spaceships instead of boats. He was about to jump into the nearest ship when a swarm of Grox exited the stairs behind him, roaring insults with lasers ablazing. Tigracc leapt into a fighter, where his odd instinct took over. He flew through the energy-gate before the Grox could close the metal doors, and blasted into lightspeed.

Zarkhator saw the flash of blue when his enemy escaped through the bridges window. "Track his coordinates!" He roared at the cowering Commander.

The Commander immidietly started the computer to find the location of Tigracc. The Commander said "Sir, the ship is at planet 332-F."

Zarkhator shook him by his neck. "Well don't just stand there! I won't information on that planet, NOW!"

XXX

When Tigracc exited lightspeed, he saw something wondrous. He was flying near a light blue planet, and it seemed to be covered in cities. The planet seemed much to peaceful to be rox territory, and Tigracc decided this would be the perfect place to hide from them. As he turned towards the beutiful planet, a small hologram appeared out of his control panel.

The creature in the hologram was a great burly thing, and looked to be near his size. His head curves into a beak, and he only had one eye, straight in the middle of his face. The creature had two long, floppy ears and a large horn coming out of his snout. He also had big, powerful looking arms with five fingers. His legs were just as strong looking as his arms, but legs didn't have just a knee, for they were similar to a dog's. The creature had big feet, like the ones a long-necked dinosaur has. And last but not least, he carried a long tail, with spikes on it. The end of the tail had a end similar to the hard part of a hammer.

"Hey! Do you have authorization to be here?" ordered the hologram.

"Ummm..." said the confused Tigracc. "No. I was chased here by these creepy aliens with robot parts, and..."

"You mean the Grox?"

"I don't know what they're called. Anyway, I-"

"Stop talking. You can land. I'll send someone to pick you up."

Tigracc shrugged and flew towards the city planet.

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And thus, is the end of chapter three! What will happen next? Is the bird-dinosaur-alien-thing friendly or hostile? Well im not going to tell you. Don't forget, OCs are always welcome. And if anyone asks about an OC form, I'm not sending one because I'm lazy. Surprise me.


	5. Chapter 4

Yo. Chapter Four, the beginning of a war in both space and by foot... but that's all i'm giving away.

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**Four**

The Commander of the Grox's one and only starcruiser was very nervous, stalking the halls irritably. Zarkhator scared the living daylights out of him, and not only because of his looks. The Grox Emperor was evil to the core, and the Commander knew he was hatching some evil plan, and that it would likely cost many of the lives of his men. Possibly the Commander's.

The officer stood to attention as Zarkhator exited his quarters, but dropped it when he saw that his master had... changed.

Zarkhator had grown an extra toe on each foot, and had grown a tail with a spike at the end of it. He had also grown spikes out of his back, his neck had become longer, and his face resembloed a fish's.

"I want this ship in space hovering near the planet 332-F. Now!"

The Commander tried to keep up with Zarkhators large strides. "S-sir, are you planning to attack?"

The Emperor nodded, "Yes, but before we leave detach the cleansing ray and send it back to Groxia. I wouldn't want it to be... scratched."

The Commander turned to carry out his orders.

XXX

After landing on top of the largest biulding, Tigracc was greeted by creatures similar to the one in the hologram, although he could now distinguesh that they were green. A few of the creatures were armed, so Tigracc exited his ship cautiously.

The creature wearing a helmet seamed to be in charge. "Welcome to planet Merarth!" he exclamed. "Me and my friends are of the species of Eyenroh. We shall treat you peacefully if you do so likewise. Now that introductions are over, follow me."

Tigracc was then led to a elevator, and a few minutes later, he was in a room shared only with the helmeted Eyenroh. "You didn't tell me you're name," inquired Tigracc.

"Oh, of course. My name is Ragnort, leader of the Eyenroh empire. I govern this solar system, but we are constantly under threat of a possible Grox invasion."

"Why would the Grox invade?"

"Greed, I suppose. They can never settle with what they have. But now I get to question you. Who are you, where are you from, and how do you know the Grox?"

Tigracc told everything. He could tell that Ragnort was not only friendly, but desperate for allies. The Eyenroh would not harm any enemy of the Grox.

After the tale had been unfolded, Ragnort sighed. "This confirms it. The Grox will invade. I'm sure of it. And with a new leader as evil as you describe... I believe that fighting is inevitable. I will order for defenses to be set up-"

A armed Eyenroh barged in saying "Sir! The Grox starcruiser has entered the system. Shall we attack?"

Ragnort nodded. "Of course. Send messages the the other Eyenroh planets that we are under attack. And please send someone to show our geust his quarters."

XXX

Zarkhator watched with amusement as his fighters confronted the enemy's. He had the advantage now, he knew, but it wouldn't last. The Eyenroh dominate this whole solar system, and they were all populated. Reinforcements from space would arrive for the Eyenroh.

Without turning, Zarkhator ordered "Commander, launch all dropships. I want them pressed down not only in space." He then turned and headed to the dock.

"Sir?" asked the Commander. "Where are you going?"

"To help in the fighting, oaf brain. I want this over as early as possible." He then entered a random fighter, and launched himself in the fray.

XXX

Tigracc refused to rest, and was finally offered a Eyenroh fighter to help in the space battle. As he entered his ship, Ragnort said "Don't be gone too long. I've just heard that the starcruiser has launched dozens of dropships, and they're headed for this city."

Tigracc nodded. "Don't worry. This battle will be over quickly." Then the ship flew away, to enter the battle.

XXX

Zarkhator zigzagged through the Eyenroh ships, blasting one whenever he could. Suddenly, five enemy fighters turned and fired at him. Zarkhator did a fast turn, so he was behind them. He destroyed two before they could turn and face him.

After the remaining fighters charged him, he let loose a missile. BOOM. The three Eyenroh ships were gone.

Then he noticed that there were no more Eyenroh ships at all. They were all destroyed, but he only had a few ships left to serve him. Then again, his cruiser had taken very little damage.

One ship appeared on his radar, though. It was coming from the planet.

Before he could do anything, his remaining Gox fighters were destroyed by a missile. He was about to pursue the new ship when 200 more Eyenroh fighters from different planets exited lightspeed. Zarkhator cursed, and continued to fight the enemy.

XXX

The dropships had all landed on Merarth, and the ships had surrounded the capital city. The Captain in charge of the attack had made a very simple plan. He had 500 Grox under his command. 300 would attack the city and attempt to capture Lord Ragnort. The remaining 200 would be positioned around the city to stop Eyenroh reinforcements from rescueing Ragnort.

He raised his laser and yelled "CHAARGE!"

The Grox army charged, sweeping into the roads until they met the Eyenroh army. The Eyenroh were ready, but outmached. They slowly began retreating to Ragnort's Palace.

The Captain was an experienced fighter. Before the enemy retreated, he had knocked an Eyenroh down with a strong punch. He finished it with a shot to the head.

Noticing that the Eyenroh were gone, he called his troops to a slow march. He had the Eyenroh surrounded. They had no where to run, and at the end of the battle, he would have this system at his masters mercy.

XXX

The Commander stared out the window of the bridge in a feverish state. Zarkhator had denied him from calling reinforcements, and he knew that it was only a matter of time until the starcruiser fell. He saw a Eyenroh craft flew right into the bridge. The window smashed, and he was enqulfed in flame.

Zarkhator saw the bridge explode, and saw that the Eyenroh, seeing victory, had increased their firing on the warship. The craft was now on fire in a dozen places, and looked ready to crumble. The Grox Emperor decided it was a good time to check on his forces on the surface of Merarth.

Tigracc's eyes followed his enemy's path. Turning on his radio, he said "The Grox's leader is getting away. We must pursue!"

An Eyenroh reported "But shouldn't we remain to finish off the ship?"

"No. It's already destroyed."

As if on cue, the Grox ship burst into three pieces, and all of the lights inside shut off.

Tigracc took off after Zarkhator, with many Eyenroh at his heels.

* * *

Chapter four is done. I'm glad I started an invasion, and I'm not even sure wrether to have the Grox or Eyenroh win... probably Eyenroh, because if the Grox win, the Eyenroh are DOOMED! Submit OC's, but only if you want to. Nay, submit them anyway.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter five, hopefully the end of this puny war... to start something new!

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**Five**

The Captain marched his troops towards Lord Ragnort's palace at a slow speed. The palace was big, but not too pretty. It was a blueish gray, and was just a big square biulding, with an overhanging roof. The Captain could see some Eyenroh forces guarding the door, and knew that there were likely more in the palace, and on the roof.

The Captain decided they were now very close to the palace. "Chaaarge!" he yelled.

As the two sides met, no one noticed Zarkhator's fighter and his pursuers join the fight. Zarkhator, noticing his trackers were distracted by looking at the battle below, did a u-turn, blasting two ships into flame. He then clipped a fighter on the side, which in turn collided with a Eyenroh ship. Both blew up.

Tigracc had sped toward the ground, and began to fire at the unprotected Grox. Five had fallen to his laser before they returned fire. Tigracc retreated, to land on the roof. The remaining fighters turned to follow him.

The Captain fired at a retreating Grox, and managed to slay his target before it reached the door. He then saw that the enemy had all retreated, the land forces inside the palace, and the fighters on the roof. He turned as Zarkhator's ship landed on the ground.

The Captain yelped as he saw his Emperor. Zarkhator had grown again, having a beak like mouth, another pair of arms, big raptor like feet, and horns on his back.

Zarkhator grabbed his Captain by his arm, twisting it cruelly. "Well? What have you achieved?"

The Captain answered through crying eyes, "Sir, we have the enemy bottled up inside the palace. Soon you will have Lord Ragnort at your mercy."

Zarkhator twisted the arm more, saying "No, you stupid fool, didn't you see those fighters? Ragnort can easily escape in one. Call for the dropships. We're retreating."

As the Captain nursed his arm, he hobbled away to obey his orders.

XXX

At the outskirts of the city, the rox positioned to stop reinforcements were having a barbecue. They were just about to eat when a Grox on watch yelled "The Eyenroh reinforcements are coming!"

The Grox left in command asked "How many?"

"400. They'll wipe us out."

Another Grox came forward, and said "A message from the Emperor. He want's to retreat, and is ordering us to head to his position."

The Grox head hollered "You heard him! We're packing up! Stir your stumps, or I'll report you!"

XXX

Tigracc stared out the window, and watched the Grox. They didn't seem like they would attack, but he knew he must be sure. Eventually he turned away and, speaking to Ragnort, said "They're waiting for something."

Ragnort nodded, "But it's not reinforcements. That's all the Grox that landed, my scouts reported."

"I believe they're waiting for transports. To retreat."

"Well, we can't have that. Let's show them who's boss, eh?"

XXX

The Captain but saluted to Zarkhator. "Sire, the transports have arrived!"

"Good," replied Zarkhator. "Get all the men on board. We must leave with all haste."

"But sire, they said that they're are Eyenroh hard on they're heels!"

They then heard yells coming from the palace.

Zarkhator immideatly took charge, ordering "Get to the dropships! The rest of you, hold them off! They're attacking from both sides, so watch your back!" Turning to his Captain, he growled "Give me your best weapon. Now!"

The Captain reluctantly handed his master a red energy blade, a very expensive but powerful weapon, which the officer had managed to find on a recent conquest.

Zarkhator turned on the hande, revealing a red cylander of energy. Wielding the weapon, he leapt into the ranks of the Eyenroh, slashing whenever possible. He eventually clashed against Tigracc, who was also holding an energy blade, but purple.

Zarkhator slashed downwards, but Tigracc deflected the blow. They then proceeded in doing a series of thrusts, parries, and deflections.

As the two battled, most of the Grox had entered the dropships, and a few had taken off. The Captain was really the only Grox not making for the ships, loyally waiting for his master to show up.

Meanwhile, the combatants battled relentlessly. They were equally sized, but Tigracc was quicker and more flexible. The orange fighter kicked Zarkhators sword hand, spinning the blade away. Tigracc was about to finish the battle with a quick thrust, but a brave Grox had the nerve to shoot at him. Tigracc leapt at the armored creature, dodging the laser.

As Tigracc was distracted, Zarkhator scrabbled for his sword, before fleeing to the transports. He managed to a enter a dropship before they finally took off.

The emperor found himself standing next to his Captain. Grabbing the officer, he snarled, "Don't think you've been left off easy, scum. You're going to wish you were never in the army before the days through."

XXX

Lord Ragnort had called a conference after the Grox had retreated, and all of the Eyenroh counts were invited, along with Tigracc. The meeting started with Ragnort yelling about how the Grox would return and how defenses must be built, while everyone else just watched.

Eventually, Ragnort was out of breath, and Tigracc decided to take the table. "I was wondering, I mean, I want to finish Zarkhator. So I wanted to ask if you... knew anything about robots."

Ragnort snorted. "Robots? Bunch of tin cans. They can't do anything."

"Well, I knew that robots aren't alive, so there wouldn't be any deaths. So I thought..."

"He's right," said a count. "Droids are almost certainly not as good fighters as living creatures, but cannot die. Cut in half maybe, but still, nothings dead. And to go on the offensive would be convenient, considering it would make a good distraction."

Ragnort glared at the count. "And what about the shield generators? We need to make some, fast!"

Tigracc interupted, saying "No, we need good defensives. But we can't just sit and give them any freedom. We must keep them hard pressed. Also, can we ally with any other empires?"

"Course. The Wajmotob empire is relativelly friendly. Talk to them if you like."

Tigracc nodded, and exited the meeting.

XXX

The Captain was attached to energy chains, like the ones Tigracc and Zarkhator were chained with. There was only one guard on duty, but it didn't matter. No one could escape energy chains.

The door then swung open, and Zarkhator entered. The Captain gasped, for his master had once again evolved. The emperor's legs had become much more burly, and his feet resembled a bear's. His four arms could smash a wrestler, and the hands were also of a bear, but with bigger claws. Zarkhator's head was almost a huge skull, and a cross between a dinosaur's and a bird's. He had more spines on his back, and his tail had sprouted more on the end. To top it off, he had grown a pair of small wings, like a pteradactyl.

The hulking beast nodded to the guard, who rushed to the controls. Zarkhator said "Ten percent."

The guard turned a knob, and a rush of painful energy went through the Captain. He screeched in pain, until Zarkhator motioned for the guard to switch off the knob, and to turn off the energy chains.

The Captain fell to the ground like a doll. Zarkhator growled "Normally you would be demoted and out of my sight already. But I am promoting more officers for my next invasion, and have decided to overlook youre failure. Too make up for the demoting, I'm going to have your left arm replaced with a more efficent one."

The Captain beamed as the guard helped him up. Having limbs replaced by machinery was considered a honor by the Grox, and he was even excited for the new arm.

He had almost fotgotten the cruel look in Zarkhators eyes as he was lead away until he heard "And don't give him any pain killers!"

Xalcath pushed past the weeping Captain as he bowed to Zarkhator and asked "You called?"

"Yes. I want the factories here to begin production of the energy shields for the capitol. I also want the city to the North to start biulding two starcruisers."

Xalcath turned to go, but the emperor added "Oh, I also want some bounty hunters to be sent here. I don't want to give those Eyenroh a bit of rest."

* * *

Done! Whew, that was hard. I'm kindof excited for bounty hunters and have a few ideas, but if you send an OC, I'll be happy.


	7. Chapter 6

Hello! Im introducing some bounty hunters now... have any ideas for more, don't be afraid to review, or something.

* * *

**Six**

Tigracc exited lightspeed and first noticed the capital planet of the Wajmotob, and thought it looked exactly like the Eyenroh capitol. As he went closer to the surface though, he saw that the spice mines, the main area of income for most empires, were mining yellow spice instead of red.

Then a hologram of a Wajmotob officer switched on. The Wajmotob looked like Tigracc, apart that he had four arms, and looked stronger, too. The Wajmotob growled "Hey! No unauthorized personnel! Prepare to be anniilated!"

"No! Wait!" objected Tigracc. "I come in peace, sent from the Eyenroh!"

The Wajmotob's attitude changed immideatly. "The Eyenroh? Why didn't you say so! Oh, you can totally land now, and sorry about the whole annihilated thing. Protocol."

Tigracc did his best to look understanding as he neared the planets surface.

XXX

Zarkhator sat watching the gang intently. There were seven in all, three being Eyenroh, the other three Wajmotob. The leader was the most interesting though, and looked like nothing the emperor had seen before.

He was a big, black and red creature, with spikes all over his body. His head was like a reptiles, though looked as if made of obsidian. He had big fangs, and his red eyes glowed bright.

Zarkhator began saying "So you are Suinort?"

Suinort nodded, "Yeah. But cut the chatter, I was told you have a job to do, and that it pays well."

"Mmm-hm. It's simple really, you land on the Eyenroh capital planet, and destroy their spice mines. And by destroy, I mean so they can never be repaired. Got it?"

"And the payment is?"

"200,000 sporebucks. And I just might let you become a Commander, if you do well. And I noticed that your gang is a little small, so I'm lending you a few elite Grox."

"Consider it done... boss."

XXX

Tigracc took an instant liking to the Wajtomob. They were incredibly modest, giving, and nice. They stuffed him with the best and most rare foods in all the galaxy, and wouldn't take no for an answer.

Eventually though, Tigracc couldn't eat any more, and decided that talking about the alliance should start.

"Sooo..." spoke Tigracc. "I'm kind of here to offer an alliance, so..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Wajmotob Lord, known as Smararof, was immedietly shaking Tigracc's hand saying "!!!!!"

Tigracc managed to break free, and said "Don't worry, we just thought that since the Eyenroh know you so much you would make amazing allies."

"Oh of course! And if you want to make more alliances, you should make one with the Daednuor Empire. Their good friends with the Eyenroh."

XXX

It was night, and the capital city of the Eyenroh was quite. So no one noticed the truck-like spaceship land.

It was big, rectangular, and yellow. A Wajmotob mercenary was driving, with Suinort sitting at the passenger seat.

The yellow craft parked just at the outskirts of the city. The passengers stepped out, an odd jumble of Eyenroh, Wajmotob, and Grox. Each one was a either a proffessional mercenary, assassin, or bounty hunter. Suinort hefted a big club, which acted like a giant tazer.

The small group slowly proceeded to the yellow spice factory. It was closed for the night, and the usually active drills were off.

The bounty hunters though, were not there to examine the structure. They then spread out all over, around, in, (and a few even went under) the factory.

When they were done, the entire biulding was glowing from the red lights of the explosives.

Suinort gestured for everyone to file into the truck-ship. After the rest of his gang were inside, he tapped a button on the controls on his wrist.

The explosion was so huge, the ground actually shook. As the city beban to wake after the tremor, Suinort sprinted to his ship.

A few Eyenroh exited the nearest biulding, armed with lasers. But the culprits were well under way, lost in the darkness.

XXX

"Make your report," growled Zarkhator.

Xalcath gulped as he recalled the past events. "Sire, the bounty hunters destroyed the spice factory at the Eyenroh capitol, and are planning to attack the mines as well. We've also finished biulding the energy generators, and they have been installed in this very city. Would you like for the two starships you wanted built now?"

"No. I've come up with a better plan. Do you think that if a space station was biult orbiting the Eyenroh sun, that it would be detected by the Eyenroh?"

"Not without a jamming signal."

"Excellent. Begin the construction of such a station immideatly."

XXX

Tigracc was just about to enter lightspeed again when he got a transmission from the Eyenroh. Switching the hologram on, he watched as Lord Ragnort came into view.

"Tigracc," began Ragnort. "I'm sorry to disturb you on your diplomatic mission, but it appears that we have some space pirates wrecking havoc on the capital."

"Space pirates?" asked Tigracc.

"Indeed. Not everyone is devoted to their empire you know, and a few have chosen a life of crime. But I suspect something broader is occuring... instead of just pillaging the spice mines, they decided to simply destroy the spice mine. Why they would do that I don't know, but I believe that they wont stop at the spice mines. They have retreated for now, but they will probably return. Do you have any ideas?"

"Of course. Post guards on all of the spice mines, and all of they major biuldings at the capital. I will arrive shortly to assist in the ambush. Oh, did you finish biulding the energy shields?"

"Biult and installed. We're currently mining resources to biuld the droid factory as well."

Tigracc nodded and turned off the hologram, and entered lightspeed.

XXX

Suinort and his gang approached the metal mine carefully. Ducking behind a boulder, Suinort eyed the one Eyenroh guard professionally. Taking out a pistol he quickly fired a blast right between the eyes. Only after the body slumped to the ground did the assassin step out of his cover. Nodding to his band he entered the mine, with his followers carrying tons of explosives.

XXX

The Grox miners and their equipment had quickly gathered enough of the metal to begin the station. As the construction progressed, they would mine the other metals.

Zarkhator walked towards his dropship, flanked by many armed Grox. As he entered the ship, his cruel, malicious mind was contemplating more devious plans to wrench planets from other Empires.

XXX

Tigracc exited lightspeed and a transmittion immideitly came on the screen of the ship. Lord Ragnort face appeared and said "Tigracc! We've lost communications with the guard at the metal mine. We believe that that's where the bounty hunters are going to strike. What should we do?"

Tigracc sighed. "Send as many men as you can muster to the mine. I'll be there as soon as possible." He then flew the ship to the mine.

When he got there he saw two bunty hunters at the entrance, both Grox. He fired the weapons and killed one of the Grox instantly. The other rolled out of the way, taking out a lazer pistol. He fired repeatedly at Tigracc's ship until one of the wings burst into flame, the ship crashing into the ground. The Grox decided to not check if the pilot had survived, and fled into the mine to report to Suinort.

Tigracc crouched behind the ruined spacecraft, thinking it would be best to wait for reinforcements before charging the mine.

As for Suinort, he was in the center of the metal mine, planting explosives along with the rest of his gang. He turned when a panting Grox approached.

"S-sir!" gasped the Grox. "A ship came... saw us... shot the other guard... I shot the ship... whatta we do?"

Suinort was an experienced fighter, and had been in fixes much tighter than this one. "Tell everyone to stop what they're doing now, and charge the explosives already planted. We must leave the city before Eyenroh reinforcements arrive..."

As he said his orders, a group of about 75 Eyenroh approached Tigracc. The Eyenroh Captain bowed to the orange warrior, and said "We wait at your command."

Tigracc pulled himself to his feet, groaning "Charge the mine! Try to get as many prisoners as possible!"

That was when the gang of mercenaries charged out of the mine, led by Suinort. The Eyenroh were taken totally by surprise, but quickly got over it, and began firing at the bounty hunters.

Then there was a mighty explosion, and the mine was totally ripped apart. Suinort had finished the job, and the mine was destroyed.

Suinort and four gang members crashed through the ranks of Eyenroh, and fled. The Eyenroh did not give chase, for their attention was focused on the remaining five mercenaries, who were so tightly surrounded that they had no hope of escape.

When the battle ended, Tigracc pulled the Eyenroh Captain to him and pointed to a small dust cloud in the distance. "See that? Six of that gang escaped. It's time to show them that we do not forget things easily."

The Captain nodded and called for three dropships to be armed for combat.

* * *

That chapter is now done. hooray!


	8. Chapter 7

**Seven**

Zarkhator watched the construction of his station under a very watchful eye. He wanted it to be huge, an awesome show of his power. Something to strike fear in the hearts, minds and souls of his enemies. And something to help convince others to join his evil empire.

The station was to be mainly used a a massive powerplant, to fuel his soon-to-be-made warships. There was though a section of the station he had reserved for plants to be grown, and fenced areas for herds of edible animals. He himself had eaten the food to be made there, and it was superb.

The station was about a quarter finished. Zarkhator had already decided that he would launch another campaign against the Eyenroh when it was completed, but with increased numbers. The Eyenroh's spacecraft had already been damaged in the last attack, and he knew he must focus his main forces on the surface of the planets.

A knock at the door jarred him back to reality. He barked "Enter!" and his door opened.

Three Grox, unarmed, entered the room. All were slightly older than most of the Grox Zarkhator had seen, and he could tell they had at least a little experience.

"Names and rank," he growled, almost a threat to not take his pesence lightly.

The Grox in the middle bowed. "I am your newest Commander, sire. Xalcath, your advisor, promoted me."

"And those two?"

"They are the captains Zrog and Lipuplatem. We are assigned to be the officers to mantain obedience in the station under contruction. We are ready for orders."

Zarkhator was not listening to him anymore, and has chosen to look at the captain standing on the left of the Commander.

"You," snarled the Grox Emperor. "Captain Zrog. You were serving under me during the first attack against the Eyenroh Empire, weren't you?"

Zrog, who was shaking in fear mumbled "Yes sire."

"Well my friend, I hope you don't make another mistake here, or another limb just might be... replaced."

Zrog remembered when Zarkhator had ordered one of his arms to be removed and switched with a robotic one. Mumbling again, he said "I will not fail."

"Good! Now Commander, I want you to contact Xalcath. Tell him to begin the production of a new battleship, named the _Skystalker_. It will represent a new threat to the Eyenroh people."

The Commander saluted. "Yes Emperor, sir!"

"Make it biult with heavy energy shields, cannons, and missiles to be fired. A weapon worthy of my army."

XXX

Suinort stopped what was left of his gang as soon as the city was out of sight. Turning on them, he snarled "Give me a communicator! I need to talk to our employers."

A Grox handed over a communicator, which Zarkhator promptly turned on. In a minute or two, he was given a signal to the station that Zarkhator was at. Zarkhator's voice was heard very clearly.

"Suinort. There better be a good reason for bothering me. And for your sake, not mine."

Suinort, who knew that it was not a good idea to anger the leader of any empire, said "Sir, we have successfully destroyed the spice factory and the mine at the Eyenroh capital. Unfortunatly we've run into trouble, and we need immediate asistance."

"Humph. I'm deducting from your pay," spoke the irratable Emperor, and his hologram dissapated.

Suinort turned to his gang, saying "All right pals, all we need to do now is sit and wai-"

He was cut off as a monstrous creature stepped into their camp.

The Epic was an amazing sight, utterly massive, with only two tiny legs to support it. It's body was shaped like a jellybean, and was the color black, with pink stripes and a gray underbelly. The creature had two poison spitting... things at it's rear, and two similar things at its sides, that were crackling with electricity. It had two large wings on it's back, and two antenna beside it's one eye. The monster had two horizantal horns jutting out of it's head, and a large, shark like mouth.

One mercenary, a Grox, stood up saying "Wh-what the heck is th-that?"

He never finished. The Epic grabbed him in by the head and swallowed him whole. It's very easy too do with such a big mouth.

Suinort recovered quickly. Grabbing his energy club, he delivered a blow to the creature's leg.

The monster, his leg crackling, staggered backward, sitting on another Grox coming from behind. He was practically crushed.

An Eyenroh mercenary drew two energy pistols, and proceeded to fire wounds all over the Epic's body. It only made it more mad, and the monster stabbed the pistol-wielder with a horn, slaying him instantly.

A Wajmotob charged it, carrying a large scimitar. The Epic then swung it's head, knocking it head over heels. The pirate landed on a jagged rock, breaking his legs.

The Epic, although it had a massive head, was not very smart, and had totally forgotten about Suinort. So he was very surprised when Suinort landed on him, smashing his charged club right into the monsters brain. The creature howled, throwing Suinort clear of the Epic, who still had a lightning-rod-of-a-weapon lodged in his head. The monster began to glow in electricity, and kept getting brighter and brighter until... a loud KKK-POOOSH! was heard.

Suinort stood up, removing his hands from his ears (which were more holes than ears) and examined what was left of the Epic.

It had more or less changed to a burnt skeleton. But amazingly, Suinort's club was almost totally unharmed, laying in the dirt without a care in the world.

Something caught Suinort's eye as he retrieved the weapon. In the distance, there was a small dustcloud, almost unnoticable, but it was definitly something. The gang leader decided that he planet was certainly dangerous and did not want to be here when the watever-it-was showed up.

So he ran.

XXX

The three dropships stopped at the fried skeleton. Tigracc circled the bones like a detective while the Eyenroh arrested the two mercenaries who actually survived the Epic attack (althoughthey were going straight into body casts). The Eyenroh captain turned to Tigracc and said "It's easy to know what happened here. The bounty hunters came across this Epic and they abanded the dead and injured."

Tigracc nodded. "And I would say the uninjured would be making that dustcloud?"

"Shall we pursue?"

"No, we'll sit and wait for them to come back. Yes we'll pursue! You take one of the dropships back with the two prisoners. I'll take the other and finish this."

XXX

Today Zarkhator was bored. Very bored. He had to wait for the second half of the station to be finished, he had to wait for the _Skystalker_ to be biult, and he had to wait for his bounty hunters to give results. So he was very glad he could inflict some of his rage on the new Commander, who was unlucky enough to pass him in the hall.

Zarkhator lifted the Grox easily by his uniform and growled "Report."

"S-s-sir, the station is being biult as schedule, and Xacath just checked in. He said the _Skystalker_ is close to finished."

"And the bounty hunters?"

"The dropship hasn't picked them up yet."

"Grrar... Do you know any spies?"

"Uhhh... yeah. Why master?"

"Ask another question and I'll kill you now. Get a spy and bring him to me."

"Sir yes sir!"

* * *

Sorry I have not updated in a while. Tight schedule. Next chapter will be even more fast paced, if you're wondering. Oh, if any mistakes (spelling, grammer, context or otherwise) are found, please warn me in a review!


	9. Chapter 8

Ho hum, chapter eight! Filled with blowing stuff up! Horray!

* * *

**Eight**

Suinort was never really biult for running, and after a few minutes, he was doing little more than shuffling. And the dropship behind him were getting dangerously close, so he was gaining large doubts to simply turning himself in now. But, as fate will often do, he was given a break.

A Grox fighter had suddenly appeared in front of him, if not half a mile away. He could easily recognize the ship, for it was the traditional grox red and black. It's hull was attached to two long metal poles that obviously fired lazers.

Suinort began running again, but the ship behind him began picking up speed behind him, for it had obviously seen the fighter as well.

For a few agonizing minutes, nothing happened except from three objects moving closer towards each other.

And then the Eyenroh managed to pull up next to Suinort, who was running in large strides. The door to the dropship opened, and Tigracc leapt out, jumping on Suinort.

They both fell, rolling in the dirt as the Eyenroh dropship zoomed by. Suinort managed to kick Tigracc off of him and drew his energy club, in fighting stance.

Tigracc, wielding his energy blade, managed to hold off the onslaught being delivered by the bulky Suinort. Every swing, lunge, and thrust made by the night-black mercenary was deflected by Tigracc's blade.

The Eyenroh dropship, though was in a much worse predicament. The Grox fighter, seeing the situation, luanched two heat-seeking missiles. The Eyenroh inside managed to lunge clear as the missiles struck the hull, smashing the machine like a tin can. The fighter then flew overhead, towards the orange warrior and Suinort, who were still grimly battling.

Tigracc's back was facing the fighter, so he did not see it approaching, but the mercenary did. Suinort kicked Tigracc square in the chest, pushing him back. The rogue then ran, waiting for the Grox ship to flie low so he could jump aboard.

Tigracc though, was not finished. Picking himself up, he put on a burst of speed, merely inches away from Suinorts spiky back. Right as Suinort leapt, grabbing hold of a rung on the Grox fighter with one hand, Tigracc swung his blade, cutting through Suinorts other club wielding hand.

The fighter took off, with the bounty hunter howling in pain and rage, until it vanished in the distance.

XXX

The Iruckrem planet happened to be one of planets in the Eyenroh-controlled system, the only planet in that system to not have a moon. It originally was controlled by the Eyenroh, but it was a desert planet, close to the systems sun, so the Eyenroh that inhabited there were so hot that they moved as minimal as possible, and loafed around whenever they could. So they always tried to stay indoors where the air conditioning was, and paid absolutly no attention to the wildlife outside there cities.

One animal that lived in the deserts was the Iskaha which had evolved into a tribal sentience, since the Eyenroh totally ignored them. They were normally gray and orange, humanoid, but they sprouted long silver spikes out of their sleek back. Also, their heads were almost of a snakes, and their eyes glowed red.

One day, a Chieftain named Walkot unified the tribes into one massive horde, and attacked one of the cities. The Eyenroh were completely overwelmed, and the city was in Walkot's control in three days. The remaining Eyenroh cities negotiated with the Iskaha, saying that the Iskaha could keep the city if they stopped invading cities. The Iskaha agreed, but began constructing advanced technology, most of which was Cyber-Staff, which was basically a stick with the ends being metal tazers.

The Iskaha, with their technology, swept through the planet, wipeing out all of the Eyenroh living there. Lord Ragnort, the Eyenroh leader, then demanded that the Iskaha should go no further, or all cities on Iruckrem would be bombed and destroyed.

Walkot gave in, sweraring that the Iskaha would never leave the safety of Iruckrem.

And so, the Iskaha, led by Walkot, governed Iruckrem, a planet of ten cities, the capital twice the size of the other cities, for it was the first city to be claimed by the Iskaha.

But for now, the planet Iruckrem is unimportant. What is important is a certain spy who happened to be an Iskaha, named Enkyarg.

He was standing in front of Zarkhator, who had decided he would be the perfect person to break into the Eyenroh's secrets, delivering them to the Grox.

After Zarkhator voiced his opinions, a red reptilian tongue snaked out of Enkyarg's mouth, hissing "Sssire, it would be a pleasssure to work for sssomeone as evil as you."

Zarkhator grinned, but asked, "I thought that Iskaha were orange. You're red."

"Yesss. Some Iskaha are colored differently. It dependsss on what tribe are ancessstorsss are from."

Zarkhator, noticing how much trouble Enkyarg had saying the word "ancestors" said "The Commander will show you your room, now I-"

He was cut off when the Commander burst in saying that the _Skystalker_ was finished, and that Suinort had been brought in, with serious injuries.

"Hmpth," grumbled Zarkhator. "I want the Skystalker to be filled with an army of 500 Grox. Now show the spy to his room."

Zarkhator pushed past the Grox Commander and went to the infirmary. When he got there he found Suinort laying on a bed, with a medical droid hovering nearby.

"_Sir_," rattled the droid. "_I have been ordered not to orperate until you have given the order_."

Zarkhator glanced at Suinort, who had passed out in the pain. "Misplaced your club, hmm?" he asked, more to himself. Turning to the droid, he said "Is there any way that you could... rebiuld his arm?"

"_Of course. I was planning to do just that_."

"And rebiuld... as in biuld him a new hand? A robot one?"

"_Yes_."

"I would like that hand to be able to shoot lazers out of the palm. Can you do that?"

"_Yes_."

"Carry on."

XXX

Tigracc stood in front of the seven bounty hunters that had been captured by Eyenroh forces. The mercenaries did not look afraid, but sat in stoic silence.

After what seemed like hours, Tigracc spoke. "Do any of you want to answer any questions?"

The prisoners remained quiet. They knew that if they talked, the Grox would hear about it. And they thought that the Grox, being the powerful empire that they are, would eventually take over the Eyenroh and hand out retribution to anyone that revealed anything.

Tigracc tried to bribe them. "First one to talk gets freedom, a ship, and safe passage to leave."

One or two of the captives squirmed a little but said nothing.

Tigracc sighed. "Very well. I didn't want to do this. You will each be locked in seperate cells, but I will still let anyone who speaks free. Then again, the rest of you will rot in this pit forever."

Eyenroh guards then led the mercenaries away. They were now thouroghly frightened, for as a rule, bounty hunters don't trust anyone, especially other bounty hunters. The pressure for them was on.

XXX

Zarkhator had to admit that he liked the _Starstalker_. It was the traditional reds and blacks, shaped like long triangle. The bridge was placed on top, a large solid block.

The ship was now loaded with a large army. And with many fighter escorts, it was a large threat.

Zarkhator turned to Captain Zrog. "Enter the coodinates."

* * *

Another chapter finished. I wanted to start the next battle during this, but decided not to. It WILL definitly be in the next one. Promise!


	10. Chapter 9

Hi! It's been a long time. Hey Veeveesomething! thanks for the OC! Oh yeah, whahts an artlen?

* * *

**Nine**

Xalcath strode about and about, seeming thoroughly anowned. While his new Emperor was warring with the Eyenroh, he had been forced to face many problems back on Groxia.

Although he did not know it, Zarkhator's rise to power had almost brought about a civil war to the Grox empire, the first in many a millenium. The Grox, as many know, hate all other species. So obviously many Grox were unhappy that a total stranger had risen to power so quickly, even though he did perfectly fit the title of their chosen one.

Xalcath himself did not approve of Zarkhator. He had been acting as leader until Zarkhator stepped in, and had not gotten over it. And, as an act of blind vengeance, had decided to gain that power back. It was time to bring in his most awesome soldier.

Xalcath looked up when his door slammed open. A tall, lithe creature strode inside, with powerful strides. She was obviously not Grox, but it looked like they had... worked on her. She was very humanoid, but covered in red fur, right to her head, with dark red stripes. With more of a cat-like head, she had big, round, crimson eyes. It looked as if she had survived an accident of some some sort, with machinary covering her right eye and the arm from elbow to fingertips. The female's right hand looked as if it had been replaced with a metal claw.

With her head turning scanning the room, she said, in a strong voice that seemed to demand respect, "You sent for me?"

Xalcath nodded. "Veara, you have heard of the Emperor?"

Veara's lip curled into a sneer, and said "Yes. Has he made yet another defeat?"

Zarkhator's actions had not been confirmed on Groxia, but rumors had sprouted.

Xalcath chose to ignore Veara's tone. "You must follow him. When he finds you, treat him with respect, and say that you were sent as reinforcements."

"Hmpf. And why do you care what he does? The Grox armies are so abundant, not even he could lose a battle against the _Eyenroh_."

"He is... different. The Will of Spode involves him somehow."

That got Veara's attention. "Wha-, _how_? Spode has not meddled in mortal affairs since the beginning of time!"

"An age is coming to an end, with a new one following closely. We must dominate all ages."

Veara seemed confused beyond hope, but managed an elegant bow. "I will track him."

"Good. Do not underestimate him."

XXX

Captain Niksneerg was a very prominent Eyenroh officer. He was no better at tactics than any other Eyenroh, but was much better at scaring prisoners enough to give in to giving information to him, to aide in his creating of tactics. This had earned him the title of Questioner, and he was obviously the best man to weedle out information from his mercenary captives.

Of course, the Wajmotob bounty hunter knew none of this. He was sitting on the edge of his prison bed, completely motionless. This was partly because he was nervous, and partly because he was covered in bandages from the attack by the Epic.

Niksneerg began by saying, in a emotionless tone, "Ready to talk?"

The Wajmotob simply spat on his foot.

The Questioner didn't even look down. Instead, he pulled up a chair and took out a long knife, and wiped the spittle off. His eyes were still firm on his victim though. "You know, even prisoners who don't talk are still useful. They're very good for alliances. Almost every planet has a good arena, and I know everyone loves seeing a large animal tear apart useless scum like you from limb to limb."

After seeing the Wajmotob's eyes widen slightly, he turned and left the room. He knew that no torture could take information faster than his own captive's torture in their brains; fear.

XXX

Tigracc was looking at the strange droid factory with something close to fascination. It was huge, and steam billowed from every nook and crannie.

Although the biulding seemed to be in overdrive, only five droids had been made. These five stood in front of the entrance to the factory, seeming oblivious to the world. The droids were made out of thick metal, but not enough to make them look very strong, even though each was carrying a small lazer. It looked as if three Grox could destroy the group in seconds.

They were obviously not very smart either. They only seemed to take notice of the orange visitor when he was right in front of them.

"_Ack! Stand to attention!_" cried the droid in the middle.

"_He's an officer?_" asked another.

_"If he wasn't he'd attack us, right?"_

"QUIET!" yelled Tigracc. After that there were a few _roger rogers _said, but nothing else.

Tigracc decided that his inspection was over. Sighing, he pointed to the droid on the left and said, "Ask Lord Ragnort to continue mining the other planets to create energy shields in the other cities. I believe the Grox are brewing some trouble."

XXX

The Grox, were indeed brewing some trouble, but Zarkhator had run into a few complications. Normally he would just ignore them and launch his invasion force anyway, but his complication was that there were approximatley 50 Grox dropships _blocking _the path to Merarth, so he was forced to deal with the problem.

On the command bridge of the _Skystalker_, the large screen which dominated the room fizzled and sparked before switching on.

The screen pictured a feline human cross creature, who was grinning maliciously.

"Hello!" she said, in an almost friendly tone. "My name is Veara. Sorry to block your path and all, but-"

Furious anyone would dare talk so friendly to him, Zarkhator roared, "SILENCE! I can see the ships you command are Grox made. Unless you are thieves, you must obey me, for I am the Grox Emperor!"

Veara seemed taken aback by Zarkhator's attitude, for she had never been treated in such a manner. "But I was just-"

"I SAID SILENCE! Every dropship you command will be inside my command ship, now! You, though will speak to me here, on the bridge!"

Veara flushed with anger, but the screen flicked off, and the dropships entered the Starstriker with the now open doors.

The Commander turned to Zarkhator and tried to whisper, "Sire, that was Veara! Xalcath holds her in very high regard. She's his favorite general, and for good reason too."

Zarkhator lifted the officer by his throat until they were eye to eye. "Are you disobeying me?"

"N-no m-m-master! P-p-p-please, l-l-l-l-let... g-g-"

The Emperor tossed him aside as if he were a rag doll, just as Veara entered. She turned to face her new leader and said in a threatening voice, "I was sent by Xalcath, with reinforcements."

Zarkhator did not even look at her as he spoke, "Were you now? Well next time, ask, or you will be in more pain than _that _slithering fool," gesturing to the Commander, who was gulping CO2 as if it was precious. "Enough delays! Head for Merarth!"

XXX

Niksneerg was sitting in a donut shop, munching a chocolate-with-sprinkles, thinking about how to weedle information out of his prisoners, when his radio began bleating. Picking it up, he said, "Hello, Captain Niksneerg speaking."

The other voice said "_Hello, Captain, this is air control, we seem to have a... situation._"

"Situation? What kind?"

"_A full fleet of Grox invaders, with a huge command ship_."

"Oh boy. On my break, too. Just my luck."

"_They're letting out dropships_..."

"Why do they think of everything? Fine, I'm coming up." Niksneerg then ran out of the donut shop clutching a coffee, flipped into his fighter, and left the planets atmostphere.

Then lay the true nightmare. The Grox had an equal amount of fighter ships as the Eyenroh, but the massive command ship was doing the armies real work, shooting down ships as if they were flies. Reinforcements would arrive from the niehbording planets, but the Eyenroh simply did not have enough fighters to destroy the _Skystalker_.

"Not a good day," muttered Niksneerg.

Finally invasion part 2! Oh, veevee? thx about the artlen thing.


	11. Chapter 10

Its chapter ten! Very exciting! Very BOOM BOOM!

* * *

**Ten**

Tigracc zipped through the Groxian fighters, avoiding the advancing ships by just inches. As soon as the massive army had appeared, he had already began making plans.

There were, of course, several factors to think about. This new fleet was big enough to destroy every single Eyenroh fighter ever made. And if the Grox could do that, they would simply bomb every city without conflict. Except the capital, of course, for it had biult energy shields that could withstand any bombing.

The second problem was the amount of dropships speeding toward the surface of Merarth. It seemed that the massive swarm of Grox entering the atmostphere mached the population of Merarth.

Tigracc decided to focus on the _Skystalker_. He had brought a small bag of explosives, and was going to destroy it at the core.

His thoughts were suddenly interupted by a huge fighter that quickly blocked any direct passage. With a rectangular hull and bulky wings, it was hard to see that six missiles were strapped to the ship.

Then he noticed omething more important; he could see that through the fighters windshield, a Grox officer was driving... with Zarkhator himself behind the control panel.

He sped around right when all the missiles were fired. He saw out of the corner of his eye a Eyenroh fighter get smashed to bits, and the other missiles toward similar targets. As he flew to the other side of the _Skystalker _he saw more Eyenroh futively trying to finish the Grox Emperor.

"Don't think about that," he whispered.

He then noticed an open door into the command ship. Slipping through, he quickly exited his fighter, only to miss getting fried by a Grox lazer.

The wielder of the weapon switched on a wrist comunicator and barked "Gaurd to command, guard to command, we have a-"

Before he finished, Tigracc stuck his enegy blade in his gut.

The orange swords-man then ran into the expanse of the ship, hoping beyond hope this would be over quickly.

XXX

Lord Ragnort had only met General Seoteerth a few times. The General had, on the Lords request, been sent for to show Ragnort and the Commanders a holographic viewing of the battle and what he predicted would happen.

"Here," growled Seoteerth, "Is the battle in space. When our reinforcements arrive, we will have defeated about half of the enemies fighters. We haven't even gotten close to their flagship, and we wont be able to until we destroy every last one of their ships."

The hologram changed to the cities defenses. "The Grox dropships are heading toward the capital. It is... uncertain how many men they have. Be alert."

XXX

Veara stuck her head out of the dropship, squinting at the slowly approaching city. "Steady men," she said commandingly. "Steady... whach it!" she then roared when the first wave of Eyenroh burst from the city streets. "Out, all of you, out! You need to box them in!"

The Grox dropships made a semicircle around the entrance to the street, but a stray shot from a Eyenroh blaster caused one of the ships to crash straight into the ground, nose first.

When the semicircle of crafts was completed, the Eyenroh forces immideatly ducked back into the street, leaving their slain comrades, killed by lazers from the dropships.

As the Grox hopped out of the transports, cheering, Veara howled out orders. "You! Make these slackers surround the city and keep on the alert! Now the rest of you come with me! We're going to root out the rest of those fools who decided to flee the battle!"

XXX

Zarkhator's teeth were gritted as his ship sped through the ranks of the Eyenroh. He was absolutly furious. Tigracc had somehow, _somehow_, gotten away. The only explanation Zarkhator could think of was that he had fled the battle. He would know if Tigracc was dead.

Finally, he turned his attention back to the battle. The Grox ships were rallied in front of the _Skystalker_, allowing no one to get near it. The Eyenroh were doing the best they could, but it was not affecting the fight. The Grox were winning, not by much, but they still were.

Suddenly there was a flash of light. Eyenroh reinforcements.

Zarkhator began to grind his teeth again. It was all very annowing. The Eyenroh couldn't win, that was obvious in his mind, but they could certainly forestall the finish.

XXX

Tigracc stared at the massive complex in front of him. The main generator, the travel drive, all of it, here in this massive room. It descended through the ship in a long, wide, vertical tube. Of course, a ship of this size certainly had backup generators and the like that would forestall a complete shutdown, which would lead to simply colliding into the nearest planet, because of gravity.

He started work immideitly. The Grox left in the ship would surely know about the dead guard and would investigate in minutes.

When he finished, he was totally drenched in sweat. He had covered every square meter with explosives, and the room was now filled with the blinking red lights of them. All he needed to do now was to hit the button on this remote...

"Stop right there!" ordered a Grox, heading a group of ten Grox. "Hand over that remote. Or we will kill you."

No better time for split-second decisions. Thowing himself into the generator pit, Tigracc hit the button.

XXX

Lord Ragnort and General Seoteerth were still examining the holograms. "Here," said Seoteerth, "Are our armies, plus the reinforcements. The _Starstriker _has somehow been attacked from the inside."

Ragnort, who was thinking that the Grox must surely retreat now, asked "What are our chances now?"

"Thanks to this strange turn of events, the Starstriker will surely fall. But that's not the difficult bit." The hologram then switched to an arial view of the city. "The Grox land forces are absolutely crushing us. We are going to try another attack in the streets, but it will likely not faze them. They seem to have... a non-grox leader. Very unorthodox. For Grox, at least."

The Lord nodded, not sure why Seoteerth thought that the Grox leaders were interesting. "Uhhh... do continue, general."

And the twosome continued to talk strategies as the Grox armies approached.

XXX

Veara led the Grox from behind. No matter how clever a tactician she was, she would _not _risk her neck for some slip of an emperor.

So she was almost certainly surprised when five Eyenroh burst out of a nearby biulding, and charged right at her.

When one of the Eyenroh was within two feet of her, she slashed her claw arm thing at him, knocking the victim off his feet.

Before the attackers got any closer, the Grox swarmed around her, and within minutes the group of enemies were strewn all over the ground, dead.

The Grox also had a few casulties, but Veara ignored them. "Continue the march," she commanded. "We will make them pay the price in blood."

XXX

The Grox Commander stared pateintly at the evergrowing blob of blackness on the herizon. "So," he finally hissed. "They decided to send reinforcements? They should now they could never break our line."

The Eyenroh forces then split into four groups, each going a seperate way.

"Well they're not stupid. Good."

A grunt waddled up then and said, "Sir, they're forces outnumber ours. Shall we..."

"I make the orders! And we will be able to make the enemy turn back once we reunite with General Veara. We will walk, _walk _mind you, backwards to the General."

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter. Was two many bits and pieces in my opinion, but I'm trying to tie it all together.**


	12. Chapter 11

Ok then, recap! Battles abuzz, that is all!

* * *

**Eleven**

"Fire! Fire, you insolent captain, FIRE!"

The ship being pursuid exploded into tiny bits.

"Excellent flying, master."

"No thanks to you, _Zrog_."

Zarkhator then took a look at his surroundings. All of his fighters had been destroyed. Something had gone whacko on the _Starstalker _and it was in considerable damage. And the Eyenroh had gained _more _reinforcements.

Then, nine eyenroh left the main group and began following them.

"Sir..."

"Yes, I can see them!"

The cat and mouse chase began, with Zarkthator dodging and swooping with the Eyenroh doggedly continueing.

"Mine!"

"WHAT!"

The Emperor swerved out of the way just in time, and the lead chaser promptly collided with the glowing explosive.

The other eight ships were to late before driving into the explosion.

"OK, where the heck did that...?"

Then, a sleek grox UFO glided by, with the bounty hunter Suinort sitting rigidly inside.

A hologram flicked on. "Hello, boss."

"Don't hello boss me! You almost killed me!"

"Sorry 'bout that."

"Why the heck are are you here anyway?"

"Didn't you say I could be a Commander?"

Zarkhator exhaled in exasperation.

XXX

"Move it, you low-life-grox-murderer-scandal-maker-scum!" roared the Grox Commander.

"I'm going as fast as I can! And quit poking me, 'cause it's not helping!" retorted the handcuffed Tigracc.

Tigracc was being flanked by two Grox on each side, with the Commander leading and a final Grox in the rear, who would not hesitate to hit the prisoner with his gun.

"Look, you guys seem nice. Why did you make Zarkhator your emperor? I think he's a total creep. You know, he-OW!"

The trailing grunt sniggered as he clobbered Tigracc again.

The Commander stopped in front of one cell. "Throw him in this one."

After the door was securely locked, with Tigracc in it, of course, the Commander stopped the grunt that had been trailing in the back. "You. Yes, you. Get over here. You seem to like our guest. Why don't you guard him?"

The grunt stared longingly at the other grox, who were already leaving.

Tigracc reached through the bars and tapped the grunt on the shoulder. "Would you like to talk? It would be a good way to pass the time."

XXX

General Seoteerth was at that time speaking to General Naroheeno by a hologram connection. "Well?" asked Seoteerth. "Have your reinforcements arrived?"

Naroheeno sighed. _"General, there is no way we can send so many crafts at one time. We have managed to give you 100 ships, and we are sending more, but you must wait."_

"That's not what I meant. I meant we need soldiers to combat the ones we have on the surface here."

_"I have rallied them, and they are reading for lightspeed. But they won't be able to reach you're position yet."_

"Well make them hurry! If they break our defenses around the palace, the Lord will be in jeapardy. And if the Grox get their hands on Ragnort, then they're going to negotiate. And with a hostage we really won't have a choice."

_"I see you're point."_

"Good. Now what about their command ship?"

_"It's doomed. We will crush it."_

"Hmm. That is all."

XXX

The Grox land forces had final reached the Eyenroh palace, and in short order the entire area was surrounded by the army. Veara was busy though, talking on the communication device on her wrist.

"Reinforcements? Interesting. Normally they would be a match for our army, but the Emperor's last invasion weakened their forces enough."

"_Sir, what do you suggest_?" crackled the Grox Commander's voice on device.

"I will send you some more soldiers. You will push them out of the city and not back down an inch."

"_Yes, sir_."

Veara switched the communicator off. She then grabbed a nearby Grox and growled, "Order the dropships to be filled by half of our army, and position them on the roof. We will attack them on two sides." She then turned to the rest of the army. "Well? What are you waiting for, attack!"

The Grox then surged as one in a charge that took the Eyenroh off guard. Veara herself threw herself into the mix, and using a lazer strapped to her head, killed several Eyenroh from afar.

Meanwhile, the dropships began to land on the roof, but a small party of Eyenroh were waiting. The defenders concentrated all of their fire on the dropship in the front, and it quikly plummented out of the sky, and exploded into a burst of flame.

The Grox did not even bother to get out of the dropships, and instead decided to just run over the Eyenroh.

The green fighters instantly realized there were outmatched, and retreated through a trap door.

Lord Ragnort was the first to see the Eyenroh fall through the small door. "Why have you abandoned your posts? What is the meaning of this?"

General Seoteerth was suddenly at the Lord's side. "Sire, I'm afraid that the roof and courtyard have been overrun. The safest place for you know is floor 2."

"Overrun? But..."

"No time for time for talking! Lets MOVE!"

XXX

"Mess with someone your own size, you scum!" howled Zarkhator. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Get over here and fight, I'll show you how I-"

"Sire, they can't hear you, we are in a spacecraft," interupted Zrog.

"Really? No matter how loud I yell?"

"Indeed."

"Ah. Make a left, make a-HAHA!"

"Good shot sire."

"How many are left?"

"Impossible to predict. They continue to recieve more ships."

Meanwhile, Suinort was being tailed by some Eyenroh himself. "Closer... closer... yes!" The bounty hunter than tapped the button that released an impenetrable black cloud of gas, causing a great amount of explosions behind him.

Suinort then directed his attention to the Starstriker. It was in some very bad shape, and he had guessed that it was going closer and closer into the planets atmostphere. Towards the very city under siege.

Grinning, he whispered, "This is so funny."

XXX

"So you're a Grox, right?" questioned Tigracc.

"Of course I am! Stop asking me questions!" shreiked the Groxian guard.

"Look, I'm just curious. So are Grox religious?"

"No, not anymore."

"Anymore?"

The guard sighed for the millionth time. "There are only two gods in the whole universe, and both have have been imprisoned beyond anything you can dream of. They can no longer affect are lives, and thus there is no reason to actually honor them."

"What gods are they?"

"This could take years to explain."

"OK, what is the earliest recoreded history you know of?"

"I guess that would be the legend of the _First Three Species_."

"Go on."

"Will you leave me alone all ready... Once upon a time there were two gods named Spode and Edo. They had made the Milky Way Galaxy and all inside it, except for life. Edo said he would not meddle with Life, saying the creatures Spode would make would rebel against him. Spode did not listen and made the first three species. They were the Crogenitors, the Hiss, and the Grox. The immedietly began making temples of worship to Spode, but at the same time plotted to become the most powerful species of the three. And, to top it off, Edo became furious that no one made him temples and began to make plans of his own. And then-"

"Here's your lunch!" exclamed a swaggering Grox with a massive chefs hat.

"FINALLY! Give me that sandwich-CHOMP-WORF-CRUNCH-SWALLOW..."

Tigracc ate his own sandwich silently, trying to work out how the story he just heard tied to his own life.

XXX

General Seoteerth was making orders as much as he could. "Split into three groups! First group, defend floor one! Second group, defend floor three! Third group, defend the Lord!"

Ragnort glared defiantly at the General. "I'm Lord here! Now where are the reinforcements?"

"My Lord, we are only being attacked by a fraction of the Grox's party. The rest are stopping any entry to the city."

"A fraction! Then wipe out the ones attacking us here!"

"Sire, the fraction is still large enough to defeat and capture you. We only have three score within the biulding."

Ragnorts jaw dropped. "But... but..."

Turning away from the Lord, the General howled "Move it you slackers, I don't want to catch you idling!"

End of chapter eleven. Chapter 12 is the part one finale and the start of fierce part one editing. Awesomesauce!


	13. Chapter 12

**Twelve**

Veara had all of her highest ranking officials sent to her in a meeting before they renewed the attack. They were a single Field Marshal, and a Commander named Yanibhees.

She started by drawing a crude image of the palace, and drew Xs that represented Grox and Os that represented Eyenroh.

"Here are our two groups. We will attack upward with our forces here on ground level, and down with the ones on the roof. Now our main objective is to find Ragnort. You have all seen images of him. The Eyenroh are not stupid, and have likely stowed him here, on floor two. When we have reached there, the entire area will be in utter chaos so keep your eyes peeled. Also, the remaining of the enemy will try to make a break to their comrades on the edges of the city. We will pursue them after Ragnort is found. Now, here are is the army we have guarding the outskirts of the city. The Eyenroh reinforcements are not sufficient enough to break that line, so we are home free. Carry out your orders!"

The two officers nodded and left the camp.

The Field Marshal went straight to the palace doors and roared "Open these doors!" both to the Eyenroh and his own men.

A small group of Grox began to beat at the door, it slowly giving way to their insesent hammering.

Finally, it burst clear, and the Grox, led by the Field Marshal, rushed in, yelling their heads off. An Eyenroh tackled the Marshal and both rolled on the ground. They continued to deliver blows to each other while the two groups fought, until the officer kicked the Eyenroh in the shins. The horned aliens eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went limp.

Getting up, the Field Marshal only managed to catch a glimpse of the retreating Eyenroh. Laughing, he switched on his communicator and the began to converse with the Commander on the roof, who had similar success.

XXX

Zarkhator's fighter had eventually become a sort of target for the rest of the Eyenroh forces, being the only one that had been at the beginning of the battle and was yet still in combat. And that was how about fifty ships began to tail him.

Under Zrogs keen flying, it went under a series of manouvers. Up, down, flips, were all used to keep the chasers at bay. But even he was beginning to slip.

Zrog, now deciding he could treat the Emperor however he wanted if both of their necks were on the line, growled, what artillery do we have?"

Zarkhator, who was pretty tense himself, didn't notice the Grox's commanding tone. "We have a single missile."

"All right, lets try something new..."

And then he stopped the ship.

The pursuiers didn't actually notice he had stopped until they had passed him, and then the missile was launched, causing the foremost ships to explode into tiny bits. Not waiting for what was the remaining would do, they swerved around, and saw...

"Geez," whispered Zarkhator. "Why is my command ship... falling?"

The _Skystalker _was, indeed falling through the atmostphere, and it was only moments before it totally disapeared.

Zarkhator then screeched in rage. "Follow it! Follow it, insubordinate!"

Inside the cruiser, Tigracc and his guard were trying to stay on their feet, a impossible task with everything turned sideways.

Of everyone, though, the people most surprised would have to be everyone in, around and on the Eyenroh palace, for the ship plummeted out of the sky, embedding itself in the biulding, easier done than a javelin thrown at a gingerbread house.

The palace, now very on fire and in very much turmoil, collapsed, bringing the massive ship down lengthwise on the city road.

Veara's jaw was still working when the Field Marshal trotted over, covered in soot. Throwing a salut, he barked, "Sir, we found the Lord. Tried to make a break for it, but we got him, yessir."

Sure enough, Ragnort was marched to her in cuffs, with two Grox poking him in the back with their guns, giving him their best sneers.

Veara, stunned at the fortunate or unfortunate turn of events, nodded absently. "Yes, yes. Put him under guard until the Emperor arrives."

She then relised that Zarkhator was likely dead. Licking her lips, she said, "Actually, I-"

"That's enough," growled Zarkhator, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "I will make the negotiations. Come along, Ragnort."

Tigracc had found himself sitting on an Eyenroh. "Umm... who are you?"

The bruised and battered alien stirred and sat up. "Owww... what hit me?"

"A ship."

"Owwww..."

"Yeah."

"You're Tigracc, right?"

"Yep. And you?"

"General Seoteerth."

"Pleased to meet you. I think we lost."

"Looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Mmmhmm. Let's find you an icepack, OK?"

XXX

After a LONG time, Zarkhator and Ragnort exited the tent that wasmade specially for the meeting. Both of their faces were totally blank.

Zarkhator turned to Veara, who had risen when the two leaders had appeared. "We are leaving. Mobilize the troops."

Her mouth gaped. "Leaving? But we won! They're city is crushed, we-"

"We did not defeat their empire as a whole, but only this planet. They are allowed to keep this place, but they gave to me the jungle planet of Hatrae."

"Hatrae? They dont make anything more than crops!"

"Which is why it is the perfect place to make food for the garrison for that space staion we biult. I want all the bases in this system to be fully functional without outside help."

"Why is that important?"

"Because I'm giving you full control of the armies positioned. Oh, we also have a monolith you can use to make the animals on Hatrae evolve to tribes. Of course, we will then use them as slaves to do all the work, and... Field Marshall, what species are on Hatrae?"

The Field Marshall, who had been tagging along, saluted and said "Considering the Eyenroh are leaving, there are the Obrat, Tumlatem, Nomogra, and Alegnat. The Nomogra are slightly intelligent and travel in packs, so it's best to leave them alone."

Zarkhator grinned. "See? Now that this is over, it is time to start biulding some alliances. Veara, set my ship to head for the Blizzanka Empire, and command the rest to go to Hatrae."

XXX

Tigracc squinted at the ships leaving in the distance. "He's not done yet," he muttered. "But what is he planning?"

"That, I can help you with," said Suinort, who had strode over. "I overheard him talking about the Blizzanka Empire."

"Who?"

"Look, they are big, hairy, vicious, and live in really cold places. Not to mention they're smart. But don't worry. They're a border empire, so they hate the Grox."

"All the same, maybe I should..."

"Sure, why not? Maybe you could propose an alliance, 'cause we really need something to fix the some of this stuff."

"Cool. Hey, could you tell Ragnort to make more of those droid factories? Thanks."

XXX

Zarkhator was astonished by the landscape of the Blizzanka homeworld Thundagi. It was incredibly cold, something he hadn't experienced until now. The air was cool and made moving uncomfortable, with ice forming on his breath. How anyone could live in such an area was beyond him.

The Blizzankas themselves were quite fearsome. They were tall, for one thing, and had canine heads with bony eyes. Their hands reasembled a bears, and each of them looked like they could pull a cart by themself. Not to mention their tails, with poison glowing on the end of a mace-like tip. The colors varied from blue to yellow to pink.

They didn't seem to like them at all. Everyone gave them bad looks, and some even spat at their feet. But after a bit of waiting and a lot of explaining that they weren't invading, they were taken to the palace.

As they walked, the Grox Emperor took notice of the architecture. For some reason, they had biult entertainment biuldings, though none of the Groxian cities had those. The whole city resembled a cave, with almost all of the biuldings looking like spikes, apart from the factories, which oddly looked like cakes. Nothing, though, compared to the Blizzanka Palace.

The palace wasn't so much as a palace as a fortress. It was massive, bigger than the Eyenroh Palace and the Groxian Library combined. It had a few huge robots that were standing guard, with two at the front gate.

As the group of Zarkhator, the Grox and the Blizzanka guards (who seemed to be on the edge of attacking) approached, the robot crackled, _"Business with the King?"_

Zarkhator nodded. "Yes. I am Emperor Zarkhator of the Groxian Empire, governer of the center of the galaxy. And I would like an audience with the King."

_"Crrr... Very well. But watch what you say."_

Zarkhator couldn't help but wonder what the robot had meant as they went through the gigantic metal doors. But he stopped thinking about that as soon as he saw his new surroundings.

It was absolutely the greatest display of wealth he had ever seen. Tapestries hung on every wall, gold glittered from the _floor_, and jewels sat on all the tables.

The were silently led to the throne room, but not without being noticed.

Alazanda, crown princess of the Blizzanka empire, gasped as she took in the party striding by. "Kharl! Those have to be Grox, from the books we read. They can't be anything else."

Kharl, Alazanda's dim-witted brother, sniffed non-commitedly. "Yeah, sure. Next you'll be saying that Vulani is Spode."

"Who acts like it though. But that's not the point! What is the point, is that all Blizzankas hate Grox, right?"

"Right."

"Sooo, no one would care if we played a little prank on these visitors, would they?"

"That sounds like fun!"

"Mmhmm. Go get Frosty."

The Grox Emperor couldn't help but notice the two young Blizzankas hiding behind the gilded couch, and noticed aloud "Those two have wings."

One of the guards sniffed at him. "They are members of the royal family. All of the royals have wings."

And then they reached the gleaming gold doors of the throne room. They opened automatically, to reveal King Cryiun and Queen Jahanna, sitting on their thrones with frowns on their faces.

Zarkhator swept in, and gave an elaberate bow. "Greetings, King and Queen! I am Zarkhator, Emperor of the Groxian Empire, ruler of the galaxy's core!"

The Queen snorted. "The only reason you control that area is because you got a head start before any species before you."

Zarkhator gave an uneasy smile. It was definitly not going as planned. "I have come as the Grox's newly appointed leader to say that I am changing some things."

Once again, the Queen butted in. "I used to think Grox were ugly, but you're just their cherry on top aren't you?"

"Uhhh... I was only going to say that we are no longer going to attack Blizzanka ships anymore! I declare peace!"

This time, the Queen bounded from her throne. "You think we'll make peace with _you_? We hate Grox, and we hate their leaders! We will stand against you till the end of time, or until we grind you to dust!"

Finally, the King spoke. "Zarkhator, I am afraid she's right. Grox do not have a very good reputation, and allying with you would cause us to lose our standings with the other empires."

The Grox Emperor sighed. "Well it was worth a-"

He then threw himself to the floor as a huge white panther thing leaped at him. Landing, it scrabbled on the smooth floor, preparing to give chase, but the terrified Zarkhator and Grox had already fled the room, screaming they were under attack.

King Cryuin turned to his wife. "I think a stern lecture is to be given to Alazanda and Kharl? Frosty is supposed to stay in his room, not attack guests."

XXX

In the very center of the galaxy, there is a black hole. It is so massive it actually has its own gravity, and binds the glaxy around it together. It was a swirling mass of black at that time, but something had changed.

The center of the abyss began to glow, streching across the black hole until it glowed like a supernova. The temperature surrounding it did as well, and the Groxian worlds surrounding it were hit full blast. The inhabitants of these worlds were taken by surprise by the strange phenomenon, but thought nothing of it until several hours later, when night came, for they realized that there were now two orbs in the sky, their corresponding sun and that of the "light" hole.

And if anyone was close enough to hear, the might have heard laughing emitting from the celestial abyss.


	14. The Shadows Come

**The Shadows Come**

**Part 2**

_When the multiverse was fresh, just blooming with life, and the darkness of the False God dispelled, Edo was born. I believe he was born from Agriath's subconcious as the False God raved for an escape, but there is no way to be sure._

_When Edo burst into the world I felt the power surge from lightyears off. What I found was a black dragon-creature, almost equal to myself in power, named Edo._

_I realised it's potential for evil, as it was Agriath's creation, but I knew it was not Agriath himself. And because I did not want my__ newly-made creations to be killed in a battle between gods, I instead agreed to make Edo the god of death and night, hoping that war had been averted._

_But Edo was no fool. He knew that ultimate power stemmed from the greatness of Agriath himself, and to release him would give Edo dominion over the multiverse..._

_Edo waited for a time. He waited for an opertunity. And eventually he found one in the Hiss._

_-S._

* * *

This verse was found on an old manuscript on Merarth. It is under lock and key in the Eyenroh library, on planet Hatrae. It has remained there to this day. Author unidentified, but it is signed by S.


	15. Chapter 13

**Thirteen**

Zarkhator ran through the hallways of the palace. He thought it was his palace at first, but he wasn't paying attention to much more than running. He also thought he was dreaming; he hoped he was.

The thing most prominent in Zarkhator's mind though was that he was being chased. And whatever chasing him was something he did not want to meet.

Suddenly he hit a dead end. Zarkhator turned around, and faced another wall. He was closed in a box. As the walls closed in, Zarkhator began to howl, right until the darkness closed in.

The world was an endless black sea of nothingness, with a total absence of light. Zarkhator began to mutter softly "This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a-"

_ARE YOU FAITHFULL?_

Zarkhator shivered in spite of himself. That voice had seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. "Who are you?"

_I AM DEATH._

"Th-that's impossible."

_YOU HAVE SOMETHING I WANT._

"I-I h-have nothing."

_YOU HAVE FREEDOM._

"I-I-I d-don't u-understand."

_ARE YOU THE SHADOW HAND?_

The voice seemed to fill every crack of Zarkhator's mind. He hated the voice but needed to hear it. He could barely think anymore.

_YOU WILL GO TO IRUCKREM._

Iruckrem. That planet was said to be a haven for mercenaries. Why would..?

_YOU WILL FIND THE TOMBS OF THE LOST HISS LORDS._

The Hiss? An extinct species that was said to have ravaged the galaxy?

_FIND ATAKAR._

That was something he did not know.

_IF YOU FAIL ME..._

Zarkhator howled as he felt sonething being branded into his hand. The pain the pain the-

And then he was awake. Zarkhator was in bed, drenched in sweat, with a throbbing head, but he didn't care because it had just been a dream.

He felt a sharp pain in his palm. A luminous skull was branded into it, and the face was twisted into a gruesome smile, as if he was laughing at a private joke.

It all flooded back, the dream and the instructions. It seemed as if the skull was now hissing _FIND ATAKAR_.

XXX

Xalcath sat on the chair trying to be as comfortable as possible. It was difficult. Lord Krik was a very intimidating Grox, as he should be. Xalcath thought that even a Epic would back down at that stare.

"You want me to start a rebellion." Krik's simple statement was repetitive, but held meaning.

Xalcath did his best to look carefree but intelligent. "You wont be alone. I am sure that I can convince House Hatootenam to join as-"

"Why would _I_ want to join?"

"Well, we could wipe out a few other Houses, and I'm sure-"

"That would give an increase in profits... Very well. But I will not publicly start a rebellion."

"Of course not! But maybe an assassination of some calibur..?"

"You shall see."

XXX

Veara strode into the cantina cool and composed.

On her left was Zrog, who she had promoted to Commander. He had shown promise in the The Second Eyenroh Invasion, as the battle was now called. Zarkhator had even said to her that he was a "prototype," whatever that meant. She couldn't help but notice that all of his limbs had been replaced by robotic ones.

Veara's train of thought returned to the task at hand when she saw the False Artlen at the table in the corner. She waved at Zrog to go to her, and he complied.

She didn't follow, and instead turned to the Iskaha bartender, who was waiting impatiently.

"A glass of diet nianab, please."

The bartender's eyes widened after hearing her order. Nianab juice was one of the most expensive and rare drinks in the galaxy. No one would with half a brain cell would ask for nianab in a cantina. Not to mention _diet _nianab doesn't exist.

The Iskaha swallowed slowly. "Will you follow me, missssstrissss?"

He led her through a back door into a different section of the cantina, reserved for members of the bounty hunters giuld. Here there were criminals of all variety, pirates bound together through their mutual greed for sporebucks.

The bartender was very careful about avoiding everyones eye. He scurried past the tables, several with a pair of outlaws fighting on it. She followed him to a purple curtain, where some sort of guard was standing stoicly. He was wearing a big golden suit of armor that made Veara think of a toaster. She could vaguely see a face through his blue tinted visor, and geussed he was a Wajmotob.

"_State your business with the BHG nobility."_

BHG stood for the Bounty Hunters Guild, a name spoken by few. And they were currently standing inside the lair of that very feared organization, located in one of the cites of the planet Iruckrem.

Veara was one of the few who did not fear the BHG, and she only respected it. "I wish to speak with the Duke."

_That _made heads turn. Even the fights froze in mid-blow. Most of the mercenaries that worked for the BHG thought that the Duke was nothing more than a rumor, or a legend.

The armored guard shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable. _"My lady, I am afraid that the great Duke would have mentioned if he was having an audience today, but-"_

"You will tell the Duke that Veara, High Offensive General of the Grox Empire, would like an audience _now._"

The guard staggered, obviously shocked. No one demanded anything from the Duke. He had more influence than monarchs in their own kingdoms. He bobbed a hasty bow, and darted behind the curtain.

Veara could hear several of the bounty hunters fingering their weapons behind her. No doubt they thought that the Duke would want her killed for what she had said.

Suddenly the curtain was thrown back, and the guard was standing rigidly wall, as an honor guard.

When Veara stepped inside, she instantly noticed that most of the people in the room were elves. Everyone was wearing the black hooded cloaks with the red fringe, marking themselves as 'nobility' but the elves kept their hoods off, unafraid. The proud fools, thought Veara. The individuals who kept their hoods up had silhouettes that suggested their species were almost as varied as the bounty hunters in the outer room.

As she walked by, now she was cautious. To become one of the BHG nobility, one had to complete enough missions to impress the Duke. And the Duke was hard to impress.

Veara was led to the uke himself. He was an overwhieght Gubtejj, but a smart one. He was tall, slightly plump, which IS overweight to an average Gubtejj. His head resembled a scorpion's, with its giant clampers. Several red spikes protruded from his arms, legs, and even his head.

He was relaxed, being fed grapes by a female Lark, something Veara found incredibly disturbing. She politey coughed.

The Duke looked up, and grinned. "Ah hello! It is good to see such a prestigious fighter in my midst. Welcome! But I see you wish to do business?"

Veara knew that the Duke's stupidity was just a ploy to decieve her. "Indeed. I wish to hire the BHG."

"All of it? And for what mission?"

"Only one. And I want the rest on standby."

"Weeell, I'm sure we can work out something."

"Assassinate the Blizzanka king."

XXX

Commander Zrog couldn't help but wonder why this 'False Artlen' was so important to Veara.

She looked a lot like Veara herself, but a pale white. They both had that distinct canine appearance, and those wierd skirts that seemed to grow out of their hips.

Apparantly, this 'Obchodnik' knew crucial information.

"Explain the Blizzanka weaponry, if you so please."

The cheeky little creature made an imputive grin. "Payment first."

"You tell me a basic guidline of their crafts, and _then _I pay for the plans."

Obcohnik's grin twisted into a grimace. "Fine! They have three different kinds of crafts. First is a Frost Fury, very small and very fast. has sleep and freeze rays. Second-"

"Sleep rays?"

"Sigh... yes, a sleep ray. Does no damage to an enemy fighter, but makes pilot drop off, snoring and all. Second, Black Clouts. A little bit larger and a little slower. Can repair damaged cruisers and other clouts, and main weapon is a high powered freeze cannon, which can freeze about a hundred enemy fighters in one shot. Third, is the Grand Astunder. They only have 15 of these around their primary colonies, but each one is enough to destroy an army. They can carry 3000 Frost Furies and 2500 Black Clouts. These cruisers have sleep rays and scrapper beams, which really just rip anything apart. All of their other crafts are used as dropships, but they also have robt suits that are used as bodyguards for the main palace."

Zrog said nothing for a long time. Finally he said "I'll buy the plans. ALL the plans. And a hologram of that palace too."

"One more thing. The Blizzanka's have about 100 colony clusters all over the galaxy. But if you defeat the Divinga cluster, all of the other 1500 systems will surrender."

"A pleasure doing business with you."


	16. Chapter 14

**Fourteen**

Dr. Enasnii was head scientist of the Groxian Empire. It was he who worked so dilligently on the Cleansing Ray, and he who descovered the usefulness of the Rigimight. And it was he who created the Dronox horde.

The Donox were a stroke of Groxian genius, and almost rivaled the efficiency of the Cleansing ray itself. The Grox Infection Pod, of which only five remain, is fired from a cruiser to the planet below. After landing, the Pod will grow root like Conversion Chambers, which bury themselves into the core of the planet itself. They will continue to dig themselves deeper and deeper into the surface, until the only way to destroy the Pod is through the use of the notorious Planet Buster.

The Conversion Chambers then procede to produce a large army. 100 Dronox soldiers are made at a rate of 1 soldiers per minute, 50 Insectrox monsters, 20 Scavenger vehicles, and 10 Dronox Commanders.

After they are released, they will obliterate all life, until the Pod pollutes the planet, or until the Dronox kill everything.

And Dr. Enasnii was allowing the release of one of them to land on the Blizzanka capital.

XXX

Tigracc had his wrist communicator on and was speaking to General Seoteerth as he walked through Thundagi's streets. "So you are preparing the new Planetary Shield?"

"Indeed. It will be an essential defensive station, concerdering the Grox are continuosly expanding their fleet... It will stop any orbital bombardment. In order for the Grox to take the capital, they have to do it by conquering both the air, and the land."

"Good. I take it the royal family knows of our arrival?"

"Of course. You should meet there escort right about... now."

What Seoteerth thought was an escort was really just a single, slightly taller than normal Blizzanka. He motioned Tigracc to follow him.

They went through twisting streets before srriving at a simple cafe. The tall Blizzanka stood behind a table sitting three masked Blizzanka's. Clever.

Tigracc sat down himself. "Hello. I am Tigracc, recently promoted to Grand Master."

The masked men exchanged looks. "An old title," spoke the one on the left, perhaps female? "But a dead one. It has no meaning today."

"I did not choose it, and to refuse an honor from the Eyenroh would be insulting."

The one on the left tilted its head. "You are not Eyenroh." Young, sounded inexperienced.

"Obviously not. Now, I am here to offer a proposition."

The Blizzanka in the middle said "If you want an alliance, we agree. You are enemies of the Grox, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Very experienced. And used to giving commands.

"Indeed. But I'm not here for just that. I am trying to form a Galactic Governement, to unify against the Grox."

All three exchanged looks again. Turning back, the female growled "It hasn't been done. Give up." Fierce, obviously thought she was always right. Perhaps the Queen herself?

"All sentient species share one thing... and that is fear of the Galactic Core, and who live there. That is what will bind it together."

Before the Queen could speak again, the man in the center, who tigracc had quessed to be the King, spoke again. "A noble cause, Grand Master. And a mission worthy of a true Grand Master. I suspect you want the base of operations to be here?"

"Yes. I hope it will be... accomodating." Without saying anything else, the Grand Master materialized back into the crowds, as if he had never been there.

The Blizzanka's said nothing, until the boy on the right, Vulani said "He's dangerous. But I'm glad he's on our side."

XXX

Zarkhator's ship glided across the desert sands of Iruckrem. He reviewed the information in his head. Atakar was a Emperor of a nameless empire. And he was dead. How the heck could he find a dead guy in the middle of the desrt on a stupid planet than barely belongs to the people who live on it!

Not that the Iskaha weren't fearsome. They were totally creepy, but you'd have to be to live here. He decided to bring that spy... Enkyarg to the desert with him, as a sort of GPS. The Grox had given the red alien a lot of fake ID, saying he was an experienced soldier, and wanted to be an officer in an empire's army. Just the sort of thing the Blizzanka's or Eyenroh would just eat up.

"We're here, ssire."

Zarkhator nodded absently as the ship landed. What was that voice?

As the pair walked out, Zarkhator sighed. "Just as I thought nothing here. Can we turn back n-"

Then three massive monsters burst out of the sand and bellowed. There were huge and humanoid, but covered in a rock like skin. They had massive spikes jutting out of their head, and tusks at the sides of their mouth. Each hand had only three claws, but they were massive.

As the Grox Emperor drew his energy blade, one of the creatures leped, pinning Enkyarg easily. He hollered "Ketatneret! Ketatneret!"

Zarkhator was about to yell how the Iskaha had gone mad, when he was tackled as well. The monsters head loomed in front, and seemed to smile as darkness closed in.

XXX

Lord Ertuav did his best to ignore his son as he ran around with his toys. Today was a day for business.

He turned as a Dronox soldier walked in. They were the perfect slave. Although not mindless, they might as well be to him, for they treated even the lowliest of Grox as if they were gods.

The Dronox sank to his knees. He was a commander, so stronger in biuld than most. His eyes were riveted to the ground. "My Lord, the House of Krik is acting... strangely. They seem to have increased there mining by tenfold, and have not offered an explanation. I serve only you."

Ertuav grinned. Krik was a fool. Increased mining? He wanted to secede from the Empire! Or maybe even conquer it. Ertuav wouldn't mind being Emperor himself, but Zarkhator was doing such a good job by himself, and Ertuav was content to wait for mistakes. But Krik had handed an oppurtunity on a silver platter.

"Write out a message to the Emperor. Detail all you have seen. Go."

XXX

In the surrounding space of Iruckrem, a Groxian dropship appeared out of lightspeed. Inside, a debate had reached its climax.

"For the last time, there are no orders here allowing your taking of this craft! In fact, the Emperor hasn't given any orders since his last campaign!" The Captain was absolutly fuming, facing the fit, lithe Gubtejj as if he wasn't nearly three times his height.

The alien sighed politly. "As you may or ma not now, the Emperor has temporarily transferred military power to General Veara, and the civil power to Minister Xalcath. Xalcath has allowed my borrowing of this-"

The two were alone, in the Captain's chambers, but that did not deter the officers rage. "All military crafts have been ordered by the General to reinforce the outer ring of the Empire! Xalcath does not have enough sway to counter that command!"

"Ah. Then I see the plan must be revised..." and there was a click as the blade that had seemed firmly attached to the assassin's wrist burst forth, entering the heart of the poor Captain.

"I hope Zarkhator gets here soon. I do want to stop killing innocents."

XXX

The fifteen elves walked up to the robot slowly. It was absolutly massive, and towered over them. "State your business-"

The elf in front did not hesitate. He pulled out an already glowing mechanism, which he stamped onto the machines leg. It raised an arm, covered with the famous sleep rays, saying "Intruders at gate 2, raise-" The robot jerked as the charge pulsed new instructions to its mechanical mind. Replanting its feet, he said to his superiors by its communicator "False alarm. Just a marchant. False alarm."

The Blizzanka scientists, surprised that such a technologically advanced machine could make such a simple mistake, replied "We understand. In the morning we will give you a full check."

By the time the reply was given the elves had slipped into the door and were halfway to the royal bedchamber.

Suddenly a Dorjan appeared at of the side hall. Its eyes widened in surprise, its huge white bear body rearing in anger. The porcupine spikes on its back rustled, and it threw its head back, baring his rhino horn in a challenge pose.

And then one of the female elves began to whistle.

The Dorjan's eyes sank slowly in drowsiness. It thought the music was pretty. The Dorjan turned around, repeating the tune in his head. The scientists, reading its emotions via the mind controll collar the Dorjan wore, were puzzled but did not worry to long on it. It could wait till morning.

The elves finally burst into the throne room. The King and Queen just getting into bed, turned and stared in confusion.

The elves drew their various weapons and attacked. The royal couple swung their tails, with mace like ends at their foes and clawed ferocly. Thier wolf heads spat and bit, but the number and the blades of the elves wore them down. Finally, the pair fell to the ground, dead.

The remaining elves fled back through the palace, past the humming Dorjan and past the silent robot. They entered their craft and fled the planet. Once again, the BHG had proved its reliability.

* * *

This story has joined the TTOT Collaboration.


	17. Chapter 15

**Fifteen**

The Grox's complete takeover of Hatrae was totally successfull. All of the Eyenroh unlucky enough to be inhabitants of the jungle world were immedietly tasked to slave labor, making all of the food for the Groxian Army that had implemented Hatrae as their base. The Grox had begun a plan of moving all of the animal wildlife of the planet into dropships, that would be sent to Dr. Enasnii himself for his insane experiments.

All of this wouldn't have been a problem if Veara wasn't a picky eater. She enjoyed eating meat, and yet absolutly EVERY SINGLE DELICIOUS CREATURE was being taken away!

She sighed, and turned towards the newest battlecruiser of the Grox. Named the _Grox Astunder_, it was pretty much a Groxian version of the Blizzanka's Grand Astunder model.

It was a perfect match of the Blizzanka's advanced technology, but it appeared that the Blizzanka's had about 15 of these in their central cluster of stars. But if this machine was finished soon, it might be used on a date that would leave the Blizzanka's totally powerless...

XXX

Dr. Enasnii's labroratory was located on the Grox homeworld of Groxia, and was one of the most prominent biuldings of the capital (apart from the Arena, of course). The amount of workers that he had hired for his experiments was about 500, but the fact that he didn't have anything to test anything on slowed his research to a stop.

So he was taking a nap when he was awoken by a Grox in a white lab coat.

"Sir? We seem to have been given a brand new shipment of test subjects. Given to us by the General Veara herself. There is also Lord Krik to see you as well."

Enasnii sprinted down the hall, screeching gleefully "Test subjects? Really? Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Something to do at long last..."

When he reached the shipment of the new animals, he ordered a different scientist to allow one of the animals to be let out of its cage (on a leash, of course).

The creature was just about the wierdest thing ever. The scientists called it the 'Wasserpflanzchen,' and it pretty much looked like a plant with eyes.

Dr. Enasnii sniffed. "It-it's beutiful!"

"Indeed it is, my good doctor." Lord Krik stepped out of the darkness from behind Enasnii. "And with your support, we can help turn all of the twisted animals of Spode into true servants of the Grox."

Dr. Enasnii didn't take his eyes away from the animal. "I am not interested in your politics..."

"Ah, but I can help you. If you swear fealty to me, all species outside the Grox, sentient or no, can be taken here for your studying."

"The Offensive General is wanting everything she sends back, you know."

"I am not allied with General Veara. It appears as if she is taking her servitude to the Emperor more to her service to the Grox. This is unacceptable..."

"So what? You are not actually thinking of civil war, are you?" The Doctor turned to the Lord and bellowed angrily "You are going to leave this lab NOW, before I have you arrested for heresy!"

Krik grimaced, but made a quick bow, saying "As you wish."

XXX

The Blizzanka Council of 100 consisted of the many Blizzanka Governers that each controlled one of the Blizzanka's clusters of planets that were spread all over the galaxy. They were only outranked by the Blizzanka King himself, and the fact that the brutally murdered bodies of the King and Queen had secceeded in creating... tension.

There were four heirs, princes Kharl and Vulani, and princesses Alazanda and Culaini.

It was thus the responsibility of the Council of 100 to vote for the next King or Queen. The votes seemed to be leaning in favor towards Kharl and Vulani, because Blizzanka's usually preffered having a King than a Queen, wanting more strong leaders than compassionate ones.

Unfortunatly, neither Kharl nor Vulani held any interest to the Grox at all, but Princess Alazanda. But Commander Zrog was quite astounded when he heard what Alazanda's own plan was during their meeting.

"I know that you Grox likely played a part in my parents assassination," said the princess carefully. As Zrog began to straighten in alarm, she grinned wryly. "Don't worry, they were never really adequate monarchs anyway. And I have also geussed why you have come to speak to me."

Zrog cleared his throat politly. "Ah, well, as a neihboring Empire, we Grox just wanted to make sure that the Blizzanka's were doing alright. And to achieve that we thought it might be beneficial to lend support to you, of course."

"That is sweet. But I think that support should be given to Kharl. He is just a figurehead after all."

The Grox's eyes widened in surprise. "Ohh... I see. Then it shall be done as you suggest. But let me warn you princess... the date of your Blood Moon will be when we strike."

Now it was Alazanda's turn to be surprised. "Blood Moon? You wouldn't dare. But it is a good plan. I will see you then, of course."

"Of course."

XXX

Tigracc was also speaking to one of the heirs, this one being Vulani. "So, I was going to try to offer admittance into the Galactic Alliance to your father, but the unfortunate accident happened to occur, and there is currently no leader... but I thought that you might take the Alliance's interests to heart."

Vulani nodded. "Indeed. There might be a problem securing the throne, but I am confident Kharl is too dimwitted to do anything successfull. Thank you for stopping by, and I will certainly take your offer into consideration."

Tigracc nodded and left the room, absorbed in his thoughts. Zarkhator was up to something, and crushing an empire through assassination and trickery was not his way. But if he wasn't in charge of these events, what _was _he doing?

XXX

Zarkhator woke up sitting chained to chair, facing the one of the oddest creatures he had ever seen. He was orange, winged, slightly bird like but humanoid, but most importantly had brightly glowing red eyes.

The Grox Emperor stared blankly at the alien, who was sitting at a desk very calmly, before sputtering "Wh-What are you?"

"I am a member of the New Tharian breed of alien," said the orange person emotionlessly.

Zarkhator paled. The Grox absolutly _hated _New Tharian Empire. It was the only Empire that actually neared the Grox in strength, and many crusades into the Groxian Empire had been led by Tharians.

So if the New Tharians had captured him, he was as good as dead.

But the New Tharian noticed Zarkhator's reaction and sighed. "Do not worry. You are not in the clutches of another Empire, but in something far worse. You have been captured by none other than the Cult of Edo!"

Zarkhator just stared blankly.

The Tharian seemed to take this as an insult, an snarled "The Cult has been around for millenia!We serve the God of Death, and shall corrupt the galaxy in his holy name, and we will be the first of his servents to be rewarded!" He grinned viciously. "But enough talk. Why do you have on your hand a magic tattoo that simply pulses with the dark power?

Zarkhator winced as the pain in his hand was reminded to him. "I don't know, I had it after a dream telling me to come here. Now who's this God of Death you keep talking about?"

The Tharian now seemed truly surprised. "You had a vision... who was in it?"

"I don't know, but he said he was death."

"Edo spoke to you! What did he say?"

"He said find Atakar."

"Ooooh... Of course. Guards! Unchain the prisoner!"

Two well armored Tharian guards with energy blades stepped into the room. They did as they were told, and waited obediantly, each holding Zarkhator by a shoulder.

The Tharian at the desk said crisply "Take him to the tombs. And bring in his friend, I want to interrogate him next."

Zarkhator was herded out of the room, where he passed Enkyarg, who was being manhanded just like the Emperor.

As he was pushed through the long hallway, Zarkhator began to take notice of his surroundings. They seemed to be underground, and the dirt tunnel was illuminated by old lights. There were more of those creatures that had attacked him hanging around, but also a random assortment of aliens as well. Most wore black cloaks, but all looked dangerous.

Finally he was taken to a big stone gate, that swung open as if waiting for him. The guards exchanged looks, as if that was unexpected, but then shoved Zarkhator inside.

He tumbled through, and the gates clanged shut behind him. He continued walking, and noticed that the only lighting in this area were some torches.

This hallway was a lot mre spacious, and filled with statues of various warriors. There was writing on some of them, but most were in languages he couldn't understand, so he ignored them.

When he finally reached the end, he was facing a statue of a massive reptilian humaniod similar to an Iskaha but bigger in stature. He turned to the left, believing he had found nothing, when he saw the statue to the left.

This one seemed to be of the same species as the ne next t it, but that was not what held his attention. What held his attention was that the words on the figures pedestal were _glowing_.

Zarkhator examined them, but once again could not read the language. And then the words changed to Grox script.

Now feeling really nervous, he read the words.

_This is the grave of the Hiss Lord Atakar._

_Conqueror of the Scorpnak Empire and later the galaxy, he shall be remembered always._

Zarkhator sighed. All that for nothing. But then the words changed again...

_TAKE THE STONE FROM THE STATUE._

Zarkhator frowned. And he took the stone (that was also glowing from the center of the statues chest.

And then the impossible happened.


End file.
